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AN  EGG  FARM. 
The  Management  of  Ponltry  in  Large  Numbers. 


BY 

H.    H.    STODDAKD. 


TOGETHER  WITH  OTHER  PAPERS 

,  CONTAINING  THE 

LATEST   PRACTICAL  INFORMATION. 

ILLUSTRATED. 


NEW    YORK: 

0.   JUDD    CO.,   DAVID    W.   JUDD,   Pees't, 

751    BROADWAY, 

1886. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  year  1886,  by  the 

O.  JUUD    CO., 

lu  the  O^ce  of  the  Librarian  ol  Congress,  at  Washington. 


CONTENTS. 


Artificial  IncubaHon  and  Brooding 96 

Breeding  Stocli,  Arrangements  for 39 

Breeding  Stock,  Management  of .51 

Building  for  Storing  and  Cooldng  Food 73 

Buildings,  Additional 81 

Chickens,  Management  of  Young 76 

Coops  for  Chickens 54 

Crops  on  the  Farm 17 

Dry  Earth,  Collecting  and  Storing ' 21 

Eggs,  Testing  the 63 

Farm  Poultry  House 88 

Feeding  and  Sheltering  Chickens 79 

Feeding  Chickens 55 

Feeding  House  for  Winter  . . . , 32 

Feeding,  Manner  of 11 

Food,  Kind  of 71 

Fowls  for  Layers 41 

Fowls  for  Sitters .47 

General  Conclusions  83 

House  for  Early  Hatched  Pullets 67 

Houses  for  Layers 26 

Houses  for  Sitters 34 

Introduction 7 

Location  of  Farm 13 

Plan  of  Farm , 9 

Poultry  Farming 90 

Poultry  Keeping  as  a  Business 93 

Setting  the  Eggs 57 

Shelters  for  Fowls  and  Chickens 69-101 

Sitting  Fowls,  Management  of CO 

Sou,  Kind  of 15 

Water  and  Food,  Supplying 18 

W^inter  Management 64 


PUBLISHERS'    PEEFACE. 


Mr.  H.  H.  Stoddard  ranks  among  the  first  of  our  re- 
liable and  experienced  writers  on  poultry  literature.  This 
volume  consists  of  a  series  of  practical  papers  from  his 
pen  upon  egg  raising  and  kindred  topics.  To  the  pro- 
duction of  eggs  on  a  large  scale,  Mr.  Stoddard  has  evi- 
dently given  close  thought  and  attention.  In  these 
pages  he  provides  for  all  difficulties,  and  is  full  of  sug- 
gestions whereby  labor  may  be  saved  and  profits  increased. 

Other  chapters  on  hatching  eggs  by  artificial  heat, 
farm  poultry  houses,  poultry  farming,  poultry  keeping 
as  a  business,  etc.,  etc.,  add  to  the  size  and  value  of  the 
work — as  originally  published. 


(5) 


AN  EGG  FAEM. 


INTRODUCTORT. 

The  tendency  is  for  farming  to  become  divided  into 
specialties.  It  is  only  through  division  of  labor  that  the 
precision  and  skill  can  be  attained  that  becomes  necessary 
as  competition  grows  keener.  Mixed  farming  begins  al- 
ready to  stand  at  a  disadvantage.  Sheep  farms,  farms 
for  milk,  others  for  butter,  small  fruits,  market  vegeta- 
bles, and  so  on,  are  accomplished  facts.  Eggs  and  fowls 
form  such  important  articles  of  food,  that  they  must  in 
turn  become  a  specialty,  and  be  produced  for  the  use  of 
the  great  cities  by  extensive  establishments  conducted 
systematically,  instead  of  in  the  old  uncertain  time-tak^ 
ing  way  of  a  few  on  each  farm.  The  wholesale  produc- 
tion of  fowls  for  the  table  has  already  succeeded  to  some 
extent,  but  to  raise  eggs  on  a  large  scale  is  a  much  more 
difficult  undertaking  ;  and  it  is  believed  that  the  follow- 
ing is  the  first  correct  system  ever  published.  Several 
joint-stock  companies  in  England  have  attempted  certain 
plans,  possessing  in  some  respects  much  merit,  particu- 
larly Mr.  Geyelin's,  but  some  defect  has  prevented  suc- 
cess ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  numerous  individual 
undertakings  in  this  and  other  countries.  The  produc- 
tion of  eggs  must  always  be  the  key  to  the  poultry  inter- 


8  AN  EGG    FARM. 

est,  because  raising  pullets  for  layers  brings  so  many  su- 
pernumerary cocks,  that  these,  with  the  fowls  past  their 
prime,  always  keep  that  side  of  the  market  better  supplied 
than  the  egg  department,  and  therefore  special  establish- 
ments for  raising  table  poultry  will  not  in  the  long  run 
be  demanded. 

In  managing  animals  of  any  kind  we  must  follow  Na- 
ture, for  she  will  neither  follow  us  nor  be  driven.  The 
domestication  of  animals  was  only  possible  at  the  outset 
by  proceeding  on  a  natural  ground-work.  To  illustrate  : 
man  domesticated  dogs  that,  when  wild,  followed  one  of 
their  own  number  for  leader,  by  installing  himself  as 
leader  instead — so  naturalists  state — and  the  cat  will 
never  be  domesticated  in  such  a  way  as  to  follow  her 
master  when  he  changes  his  abode,  because  originally  a 
solitary  animal.  Just  so  the  domestication  of  hens  was 
effected  by  building  upon  an  original  foundation.  In 
understanding  the  nature  and  needs  of  fowls,  it  will 
assist  if  we  investigate  the  condition  and  habits  of  the 
wild  parent  stock  in  India,  for  the  nature  of  any  species 
remains  essentially  the  same  for  long  periods.  The  trans- 
fer of  the  birds  from  forest  to  farm,  has  affected  their 
life  and  most  important  habits  surprisingly  little.  The 
tame  fowls  have  the  same  cries  of  warning  to  each  other, 
and  other  language,  that  observers  have  found  them  to 
use  in  their  native  jungles  ;  they  still  hide  their  nests  in 
some  corner,  just  as  if  they  were  selecting  a  nook  in  a 
thicket ;  and  they  are  attached  to  the  premises  where 
they  live,  as  they  and  all  other  gallinaceous  birds  are  to 
some  small  district,  when  wild.  The  wild  jungle  fowl 
is  by  no  means  foreign  to  our  subject ;  and  in  attempt- 
ing to  manage  poultry  by  thousands,  only  a  proper  re- 
gard for  original  nature  will  prevent  failure.  According 
to  this  nature  they  live  during  the  breeding  season  in 
distinct  families  under  polygamy.  Each  family  group 
has  by  tacit  agreement  a  part  of  the  forest  for  its  beat. 


INTRODUCTORY.  9 

and  the  exclusion  of  strangers  of  the  same  species  secures 
privacy  and  tranquillity.  They  have  their  freedom,  and 
in  that  word  are  comprehended  the  needful  exercise,  sun, 
pure  air,  shade,  and  varied  diet. 

Some  plans  upon  a  large  scale  have  secured  small  sepa- 
rate flocks  without  freedom,  and  others  have  secured 
freedom  without  separation.  Small  flocks  at  liberty  on 
distinct  farms  have  been  kept  successfully  during  centu- 
ries, because  the  owners  were  unconsciously  imitating  the 
natural  groups  of  the  wild  jungle  fowls.  But  when  it 
has  been  found  that  a  flock  of  twenty  gave  a  handsome 
profit,  and  the  number  has  been  increased  to  hundreds, 
with  the  idea  of  correspondingly  multiplying  the  gains, 
an  unnatural  moh  has  been  formed,  the  hereditary  in- 
stincts violated,  and  laying  checked.  The  confusion  has 
not,  however,  lessened  the  amount  of  feed  consumed, 
and  pecuniary  results  have  been  the  wrong  way.  When 
it  is  attempted  to  divide  the  number,  and  place  them  in 
separate  inclosures,  the  results  are  still  far  from  satisfac- 
tory. Small  flocks  kept  yarded,  may  be  multiplied  on 
the  same  farm  to  any  desired  extent ;  but  their  wants 
can  be  all  supplied  only  through  an  amount  of  labor  that 
eats  up  the  profits.  In  this  land  of  high  wages,  the  ex- 
pense of  attendance  determines  to  a  great  extent  the  suc- 
cess of  the  whole  project.  All  persons  who  have  tried 
managing  a  number  of  yards,  are  agreed  as  to  the  great 
labor  involved  when  thorough  care  is  taken,  while  with- 
out such  care,  thrift  cannot  be  maintained  under  the 
inclosure  system. 

THE   PLAN   OF   THE   FARM. 

Upon  our  poultry  farm,  then,  we  dispense  with  yards, 
(excepting  for  some  special  purposes),  and  imitate  a 
country  toiun,  where  is  stationed  at  every  farm-yard  a 
flock.     This  method  we  know  has  succeeded  for  hundreds 


10  AN    EGG   FARM. 

of  years,  since  men  became  partly  civilized  ;  so  it  is  no 
new  experiment,  and  it  is  based  on  a  state  of  things  still 
older,  extending  beyond  the  period  of  domestication. 
Across  a  tract  of  62'  |,  acres,  100  rods  square,  run  paral- 
lel wagon  roads,  10  rods  apart,  with  fowl-houses  located 
quincunx  style,  every  10  rods.  In  this  way  each  house 
is  surrounded  with  six  others,  and  is  10  rods  to  11  and  a 
fraction,  from  each.     Now,  when  a  flock  is  attached  to 

l»  o  #  •  O 


•  0 


\«  o  •  • 

\ 

Fig.  1.— DIAGBAM  OF  EGG  FABM. 


each  farm-yard  in  a  village,  and  runs  at  liberty,  the 
premises  may  be  as  near  each  other  as  eight  or  six  rods 
even,  without  danger  of  the  birds  straying,  ordinarily, 
when  once  fairly  domiciled.  This  is  because  the  neigh- 
bors' premises  have  a  different  look,  and  the  buildings, 
garden,  orchard,  shrubbery,  and  fences,  serve  as  land- 
marks to  enable  them  to  find  their  way  back.  To  make 
each  flock  upon  our  tract  know  its  home,  we  have 
three  styles  of  buildings,  so  unlike  in  color  and  other  re- 
spects, as  to  be  distinguished  by  their  occupants,  and 
these  alternate  in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  mistakes. 
Here  the  ancient  instincts  of  the  birds  are  our  reliance. 


MANNER   OF    FEEDING.  11 

their  powers  of  discriminating  locality  being  very  strong. 
It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  any  faculty  which  was  of 
use  when  the  race  was  wild,  may  be  definitely  counted  on, 
unless  it  has  since  been  persistently  bred  out.  The 
buildings  are  white,  black,  and  uncolored,  in  succession, 
so  that  the  six  immediately  adjoining  any  one,  are  none 
of  them  like  itself.  The  white  and  black  coloring  are  of 
the  cheapest  sort — lime-wash  and  coal-tar. 

In  the  diagram  (fig.  1),  of  a  portion  of  the  farm,  the 
quincunx  order  is  shown,  and  the  position  of  the  wagon 
path  is  indicated  by  the  dotted  lines.  The  alternation  of 
the  colors  of  buildings  will  be  understood  from  the 
white,  black,  and  tinted  dots. 

MANNER   OF   FEEDING. 

While  pursuing  the  experiments  which  led  to  this  sys- 
tem, we  early  perceived  that  while  a  flock  thus  situated 
would  stay  near  home  so  long  as  no  person  approached, 
when  feeding  them,  we  were  followed  by  birds  from 
neighboring  flocks,  and  there  was  confusion.  Then,  so 
accustomed  do  fowls  become  to  associating  the  sight  of 
their  keeper  with  a  boon,  that  they  will  follow  him  from 
one  station  to  another,  when  on  his  rounds  collecting 
eggs,  or  attending  to  other  matters.  True,  their  ability 
to  find  their  way  back  is  wonderful,  but  fighting  follows 
interference,  and  thus  the  quiet  and  order  so  essential  to 
laying  are  impaired.  Besides,  frequent  association  of 
this  kind  will,  after  awhile,  break  down  all  distinction 
between  neighboring  flocks.  Such  a  trouble  would  be 
fatal  to  the  whole  plan.  The  solution  of  this  difficulty 
is  original  with  our  system,  and  the  key  to  its  success. 
The  feeding  business  is  the  cause  of  the  trouble,  and  the 
only  reason* why  fowls  follow  their  keeper.  The  remedy 
is  to  bring  about  the  feeding  indirectly.  From  earliest 
chickenhood  the  birds  are  brought  up  so  as  to  never 


12  AN    EGG   FAKM. 

perceive  that  the  keeper  has  anything  to  do  with  their 
feed.  The  small  coops  for  young  chickens  (on  a  separate 
part  of  the  farm),  have  boxes  where  the  feed  is  placed, 
and  a  simple  contrivance  attached,  that  does  not  admit 
the  chickens  until  some  time  afterward.  This  device  will 
be  described  when  treating  upon  buildings.  Adult  fowls 
are  given  soft  feed  early  in  the  morning  in  a  feed-box  in 
their  house,  so  constructed  that  the  keeper  is  not  seen  by 
them  at  all.  All  the  hard  grain  for  the  day's  allowance 
is  deposited  in  a  pile  of  straw  outside,  before  they  are  let 
out  of  the  building,  and  it  is  a  day's  work  for  them  to 
scratch  for  it.  This  employment  is  very  salutary  to  their 
health  and  spirits,  and  assists  in  keeping  the  flock  to- 
gether. The  bright  eye  and  keen  faculty  for  prying  and 
searching  are  employed,  instead  of  the  birds  moping  or 
standing  listless.  They  feel  as  if  everything  was  right 
and  natural,  and  this  influences  laying  to  a  surprising 
degree.  The  sight  of  the  keeper  is  associated  with  no 
gift  or  boon  whatever,  scrupulous  care  being  taken  dur- 
ing the  15  or  18  months  that  limit  the  lives  of  most  of 
the  main  laying  stock,  never  to  throw  them,  directly,  a 
morsel  of  food,  or  allow  them  to  see  the  drinking  vessels 
filled.  All  motions  near  the  fowls  should  be  slow  and 
gentle  ;  they  should  never  be  frightened,  and  should  re- 
gard their  keeper  with  neither  fear  nor  aversion,  but 
with  total  indifference.  The  two  points,  of  differently 
appearing  premises  at  different  stations,  and  indirect 
feeding,  both  being  attended  to,  we  are  enabled  to  keep 
separate  flocks  in  freedom  upon  one  farm  without  yards. 
The  method  of  overcoming,  by  use  of  a  team,  the  loss  of 
time  in  attendance  caused  by  the  scattering  of  the  build- 
ings, will  be  described  in  its  proper  place,  as  well  as  the 
ways  of  securing  throughout  the  greatest  economy  in 
labor  and  lumber. 


THE   LOCATION   OP   THE   FARM.  13 

THE  LOCATION  OF  THE  FARM. 

A  location  near  a  city  secures  the  best  advantages.  An 
article  produced  daily  the  year  through,  and  which  is 
prized  for  being  fresh,  should  be  raised  as  close  to  a  mar- 
ket as  possible.  Thus  the  highest  rates  may  be  obtained, 
the  special  aim  being  to  supply  the  demand  for  better 
eggs  than  any  can  be  that  are  packed  and  sent  great  dis- 
tances. Under  the  system  which  now  supplies  to  a  great 
extent  eastern  cities,  there  is  the  time  spent  in  collecting 
eggs  from  various  sources,  to  which  must  be  added  the 
time  for  transportation,  and  the  time  they  are  in  the 
dealer's  hands  after  arrival.  Then  the  jarring  is  more  or 
less  injurious,  and  after  it,  eggs  will  keep  but  a  little 
while.  They  pass  through  so  many  hands,  that  no  one 
in  particular  is  responsible  for  the  character  of  the  ar- 
ticle. Under  our  plan  eggs  are  delivered  directly  to  con- 
sumers, families  being  visited  regularly  once  a  week.  The 
egg-route  has  this  advantage  over  a  milk-route,  that  it 
need  not  be  traversed  so  often,  only  a  sixth  of  the  whole 
being  traveled  daily  ;  thus  the  expense  of  delivery  is  not 
great.  As  a  team  must  be  sent  to  town  every  day  to  col- 
lect waste  bits  from  the  meat  markets,  eggs  can  be  sent, 
when  only  a  day  or  two  laid,  with  no  extra  trouble.  If 
disposed  of  at  stores,  an  arrangement  should  be  made 
with  the  dealer  whereby  they  may  be  kept  in  a  separate 
lot,  and  sold  under  the  name  of  the  producer.  Consumers 
readily  appreciate  eggs,  butter,  or  other  produce  that 
comes  from  a  regular  responsible  source.  When  a  lot  is 
mixed  with  lots  from  oiher  farms,  its  individuality  is 
lost ;  if  good,  it  may  only  be  helping  to  sell  the  poor  ar- 
ticle of  somebody  else,  and  the  producer  does  not  reap 
the  benelits  of  his  pains  in  increased  custom.  No  produce 
can  be  supplied  to  city  dwellers  to  better  mutual  advan- 
tage to  seller  and  buyer,  than  new-laid  eggs  delivered 
direct,  the  dubious  ones  now  in  the  market  causing  much 


14  AN    EGG    FARM. 

loss  and  vexation.  Poultry  farms  may  be  established  at 
the  west,  and  have  the  benefits  of  cheap  land  and  grain ; 
or  at  the  south,  where  the  season  is  earlier,  and  water 
transportation  available.  But  the  value  of  manure  at  the 
east  is  so  great,  that  it  is  more  economical  to  bring  grain 
here  from  the  west  than  eggs ;  the  latter  being  so  trouble- 
some to  send  by  rail.  Butcher's  waste,  procured  fresh, 
being  almost  absolutely  necessary,  is  an  important  consid- 
eration in  favor  of  proximity  to  a  city.  When  it  is  seen 
that  high  prices  for  eggs  depends  on  their  being  produced 
near  by  and  delivered  fresh,  and  that  the  labor  is  no 
greater  to  raise  them  close  by  the  market,  than  at  a  dis- 
tance at  lower  rates,  with  an  additional  deduction  for 
transportation  and  breakage,  we  believe  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  the  best  place  is,  on  the  whole,  near  an  east- 
ern city.  The  site  should  not  be  far  from  a  rail-road 
freight  depot  or  wharf.  The  amount  of  western  grain 
needed  is  large.  Hauling  this  many  miles  by  team  is  too 
costly.  Enriching  ground  at  the  east  by  feeding  out  grain 
from  the  prairies,  is  an  indirect  way  of  importing  their 
rich  mold.  Therefore,  we  take  care  that  this  importation 
is  judiciously  contrived.  A  mill  near  by,  for  grinding,  is 
desirable.  A  tract  of  arable  land  may  be  found  (though 
rarely),  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  either  woods,  SAvamps, 
or  rocky  pastures,  so  that  there  need  be  no  danger  that 
the  fowls  will  stray  into  tilled  fields  of  adjoining  proprie- 
tors. In  case  such  a  farm  could  be  procured,  the  great 
expense  of  a  fowl-proof  fence  all  around  it  would  be  saved. 
If  the  tract  is  unfortunately  bounded  by  cultivated  lauds, 
then  it  must  be  so  large  and  of  such  cheap  quality,  that 
a  border,  20  or  30  rods  wide,  may  be  afforded  to  be  kept 
in  permanent  pasture.  The  land  should  be  upon  a  slope, 
for  there  must  be  a  quick  surface  drainage  after  heavy 
rains  ;  but  the  pitch  should  not  be  so  steep  as  to  prevent 
easy  wagoning.  A  southward  inclination  gives  a  proper 
sunny  exposure  ;  and  if  there  is  a  belt  of  woods  on  the 


THE    KIND    OF    SOIL.  15 

north  to  break  the  winds,  so  much  the  better.  If  near 
swamps,  sea-marshes,  or  damp  river  valleys,  the  site  should 
be  so  elevated  as  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  the  worst  raw 
chilling  fogs.  We  have  enumerated  all  the  above  quali- 
fications as  necessary  to  a  site  for  an  egg  farm.  Their 
combination  with  certain  essentials  of  soil  which  we  are 
about  to  state,  make  the  matter  of  selection  one  of  con- 
siderable difficulty.  Many  more  important  points  are  to 
be  attended  to  than  in  choosing  a  place  for  ordinary  farm- 
ing or  gardening. 

THE  iOND  OF  SOIL. 

The  soil  should  be  adapted  to  cultivation.  Those  who 
advocate  a  waste  tract  make  a  great  mistake,  in  our  opin- 
ion. Every  rood  should  be  capable  of  cultivation,  and 
rocky  or  bushy  land  avoided.  Shade  may  be  artificially 
provided  at  a  small  cost  in  a  manner  to  be  hereafter  des- 
cribed. It  is  necessary  to  raise  crops  in  order  to  get  the 
full  advantage  of  the  manure.  It  exceeds  in  value  that 
made  by  any  other  domestic  animal,  because  it  is  from 
rich  food  more  thoroughly  digested  than  is  the  case  with 
quadrupeds.  The  scrapings  from  the  roosts  might  be 
carried  to  another  farm,  it  is  true,  but  the  nearer  they 
are  applied  the  less  labor  ;  and  the  droppings  where  fowls 
range,  and  at  every  coop  of  small  chickens,  etc.,  are  too 
valuable  to  be  lost,  and  cannot  be  gathered  up  save  by 
the  roots  of  plants  on  the  spot.  In  order  to  distract  at- 
tention from  the  main  business  as  little  as  possible,  crops 
of  the  simplest  management  should  be  mostly  grown,  and 
only  those  that  can  be  consumed  by  the  establishment ; 
grass,  cabbages,  lettuce,  onions,  potatoes,  beets,  and  other 
roots,  large  quantities  of  oat  or  rye  straw,  and  the  bal- 
ance, grains  of  various  sorts,  corn  especially  being  always 
in  order.  The  principle  of  division  of  labor,  carried  out 
to  full  extent,  would  forbid  our  raising  crops  at  all,  were 


16  AN   EGG   FARM. 

.  we  able  to  gather  all  the  manure  and  sell  it  for  what  it  is 
really  worth.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  much  would  be 
wasted  unless  there  is  tillage,  and  there  is  no  price  estab- 
lished for  such  manure  ;  and  if  there  were,  it  is  under 
our  system  all  immediately  mixed  with  earth,  so  that  the 
amount  could  only  be  guessed  at.  The  quahty  of  the  soil 
may  be  poor,  or  worn  out  at  the  start,  thus  securing 
cheapness  ;  but  it  should  be  of  a  sort  that  it  Avould  pay  to 
apply  valuable  manure  to.  For  the  sake  of  the  health  ol 
the  birds,  choose  a  warm,  dry  soil.  Land  which  dries  quick- 
ly after  rains,  is  the  kind  ;  and  another  test  is,  whether 
id  is  ready  for  the  plow  early  in  spring.  If  it  will  pro- 
duce peas  or  watermelous  earlier  than  common,  we  are 
not  far  wrong.  It  should  not  be  clayey  or  gravelly,  but  a 
sandy  loam.  Gravel  for  a  subsoil,  low  enough  down  never 
to  be  reached  by  the  plow,  would  be  excellent,  making 
a  natural  underdrainage  ;  but  gravel  at  the  surface  trou- 
bles the  fowls  in  their  rolling  and  dusting.  A  supply  of 
white  gravel  for  the  use  of  the  birds  should  be  screened 
to  a  proper  size  at  some  other  place,  and  hauled  to  the 
spot,  and  put  in  boxes  for  the  use  of  the  birds.  The  soil 
should  answer  for  dry  earth  for  the  roosts  and  for  dust- 
baths,  the  loam  being  of  a  sort  easily  reduced  to  an  im- 
palpable powder.  This  is  important,  because  we  depend 
upon  pulverized  dry  earth  all  through  the  business,  to  se- 
cure the  cleanliness  and  health  of  the  birds  with  the  least 
possible  labor.  A  great  deal  is  said  in  poultry  books  and 
papers  about  the  importance  of  cleaning  the  roosts  fre- 
quently. We  do  not  clean  ours  oftener  than  once  in  three 
or  four  months.  The  labor  of  going  the  rounds  daily  in 
a  large  establishment,  thoroughly  scraping  floors,  and  re- 
moving manure,  would  be  enormous.  .We  set  all  our 
fowl-houses  on  a  ridge  of  earth  thrown  up,  by  plowing 
several  times  toward  the  center,  and  surround  with  a 
shallow  ditch  for  surface  drainage  after  heavy  rains.  Thus 
we  secure  dryness,  wet  being  the  foe  that  must  be  kept 


CROPS    ON   THE   FARM.  17 

from  the  fowls  at  every  stage.  Then  in  winter  a  bed  of , 
dry  earth,  six  inches  deep,  is  put  inside  the  hoiises  instead 
of  a  floor,  and  a  couple  of  inches  added  monthly  if  need- 
ed. The  birds  may  be  depended  upon  to  cover  their 
own  droppings,  not  only  daily  but  hourly,  when  not  at 
roost,  a  thick  cloud  of  dust  being  raised  every  little  while. 
The  houses  will  always  be  freer  from  taint  than  if  floors 
were  used  without  dry  earth,  and  scrubbed  with  soap  and 
sand  three  times  a  day. 

CROPS  ON  THE  FARM. 

As  it  is  impossible  to  raise  any  crop  on  vines,  stalks,  or 
trees  above  ground  or  below  it,  that  hens  will  not  dam- 
age, crops  are  put  on  one-half  of  the  ground  each  year, 
and  the  fowls  on  the  other  half.  Movable  fowl-houses 
are  used  exclusively,  with  the  exception  of  some  large 
ones  for  hatching-rooms.  By  building  small,  light,  and 
low,  with  strong  sills  made  on  purpose  for  runners,  the 
houses  may  be  moved  every  spring  by  an  ordinary  team, 
to  the  section  tilled  the  previous  summer.  The  distance 
traveled  in  transferring  1 00  fowl-houses,  from  one  60-acre 
lot  to  another,  is  one-third  of  a  mile  for  each  building, 
and  back  with  no  load.  The  amount  of  labor  is  much 
less  than  would  be  involved  in  hauling  the  manure,  mixed 
with  dry  earth,  from  the  buildings.  The  moving  is  ac- 
complished systematically ;  the  fowls  belonging  to  a 
building  being  all  moved  in  one  flock  in  a  large  box  made 
on  purpose,  in  which  they  are  quietly  entrapped  when  at- 
tempting to  leave  their  house  in  the  morning  by  placing 
it  adjoining,  after  which  the  box  is  darkened  and  drawn 
upon  runners,  on  which  it  stands,  to  the  new  station. 
On  arriving  they  are  immediately  allowed  to  escape  into 
a  spare  house,  shaped  and  colored  like  the  one  they  left, 
placed  before-hand,  when  they  are  ready  to  commence 
their  day  as  usual,  the  whole  operation  of  removal  occu= 
pying  only  a  tew  minutes.     Besides  this  yearly  moving, 


18  AS  EGG   PAEM. 

.each  building  is  moved  every  few  days  during  spring, 
summer,  and  fall,  its  length  only.  Thus  a  fresh  spot  is 
secured,  and  to  prevent  •  all  taint  and  uncleanliness,  as 
well  as  to  keep  the  manure  safe  for  next  year's  crops,  an 
implement  like  a  harrow,  with  teeth  like  a  horse-hoe,  is 
drawn  over  the  spot  where  it  stood.  The  buildings  are 
all  moved  in  regular  order  in  the  same  direction,  so  as  to 
keep  the  same  distances  apart ;  then  back  again  over  an- 
other strip  of  ground,  so  as  to  fertilize  the  whole  lot  in 
the  course  of  the  season.  The  frequent  turning  of  the 
soil  not  only  keeps  it  sweet,  but  provides  what  fowls  are 
so  fond  of— a  place  to  scratch  for  insects,  and  roll  and 
dust  themselves  in  dry  weather.  The  crop  of  weeds  that 
will  constantly  appear  in  summer  must  be  as  constantly 
turned  under  ;  and  whatever  advantage  there  may  be  in 
green  crops  for  manure  will  be  secured  ;  thus  the  enrich- 
ing and  pulverizing  of  the  ground  will  fit  it  for  large 
crops.  It  need  not  lie  altogether  fallow  either,  for  a  few 
small  spots  may  be  sown  thickly  with  lettuce,  cabbages, 
or  other  plants  that  fowls  will  eat,  and  protected  until 
partly  grown,  by  movable  lath-fences  or  wire-netting, 
after  which  they  may  be  allowed  to  help  themselves.  Oats 
may  be  sown  in  strips  also ;  and  whether  the  fowls  scratch 
Tip  and  eat  the  seed  in  spring,  or  forage  upon  the  rijiened 
grain,  no  matter.  It  is  only  necessary  to  compare  the 
amount  of  labor  spent  in  spading  the  ground  in  yards>  to 
keep  it  fresh,  with  this  way  of  using  team  and  plow,  to 
see  the  feuperiority  of  the  latter  method. 

SUPPLYING    WATER   AND   FOOD. 

The  distance  once  around  to  each  station  amounts  to 
several  miles,  and  the  rounds  must  be  made  four  or  five 
times  at  least  every  day.  The  distance  would  be  too 
great  for  the  attendant  to  walk  over,  even  if  empty- 
handed,  and  transporting  grain  and  water  without  a 


SUPPLYING   WATER    AND    FOOD.  19 

team  would  be  out  of  the  question.  A  supply  of  water 
through  pipes,  connecting  with  each  station,  would  be 
too  costly,  especially  as  they  would  be  idle  when  the  land 
was  cultivated.  A  running  stream  conducted  in  an  open 
ditch  to  each  building  would  freeze  in  winter,  make  the 
ground  near  its  banks  too  damp,  and  be  in  the  way  of 
plowing,  moving  buildings,  and  other  operations ;  be- 
sides, few  lots  suitable  in  other  respects  can  be  found 
where  the  slope  of  ground  with  water  supply  at  top  admit 
of  the  construction  of  such  an  acqueduct.     Each  flock  of 


STONE    cotter's   dray. 


fowls  needs  a  pailful  of  water  daily,  taking  account  of 
the  evaporation  in  hot  weather,  and  the  necessity  of 
emptying  the  drinking  vessels  at  night  in  winter  to  pre- 
vent freezing.  Such  an  amount  of  water  could  not  well 
be  carried  by  hand. 

The  most  convenient  wagon  for  our  use  is  that  some- 
times kept  for  moving  stone  at  quarries,  and  called  a 
stone-cutter's  dray,  shown  in  figure  2.  In  Maine,  such 
are  used  very  commonly  to  carry  timber  about  saw-mills, 
and  on  short  routes  where  no  stumps  or  stones  are  to  be 
passed  over,  thus  saving  much  lifting. 

It  is  desirable  that  the  driver  should  ride  the  ten-rod 
stages  between  the  fowl-houses  to  lighten  his  labor,  and 
that  the  team  should  trot  to  save  time.  But  to  climb  in 
and  out  of  an  ordinary  wagon  to  ride  ten  rods,  would  in- 


20  AN   EGG    FAEM. 

volve  more  exertion  then  walking.  Besides,  the  labor  of 
lifting  grain  in  and  out  will  be  much  less  in  a  low  wagon ; 
the  water-cask  may  be  filled  and  drawn  from  readily,  and 
it  is  especially  convenient  in  gathering  dry  earth.  The 
vehicle  should  be. built  just  heavy  enough  to  support  a 
barrel  of  water,  five  or  six  bushels  of  grain,  and  the  driver  ; 
or  when  rigged  for  earth,  the  amount  desired  to  be  carried 
is  about  equal  to  an  ordinary  horse-cart  load.  It  is  not 
intended  to  be  used  off  the  premises  at  all,  and  as  there 
are  no  stones,  hummocks,  or  the  like,  and  no  deep  ruts, 
the  body  is  set  so  as  to  clear  the  ground  by  only  8  inches 
(10  inches  are  allowed  in  the  Maine  wagons).  The  body 
is  12  feet  long,  and  4  feet  2  inches  ^ide  behind,  and  3 
feet  wide  in  front,  the  tapering  shape  being  necessary  to 
give  a  chance  to  turn  the  wagon  without  cramping  ;  and 
the  turning  is  also  facilitated  by  making  the  axle-trees 
so  long  that  the  wheels  track  5  feet  7  inches,  or  about  4 
inches  wider  than  a  common  horse-cart.  The  side-boards 
are  but  6  inches  wide — the  aim  being  to  keep  as  near  the 
ground  as  possible — and  of  two-inch  plank,  serving  as 
part  of  the  body  frame.  Four  cross-pieces  underneath, 
fastened  to  the  side-boards  by  stout  clamp  bolts,  com- 
plete the  frame  ;  and  the  whole  is  so  constructed  that  no 
part  of  the  body  projects  from  under  the  side-boards,  the 
compactness  of  shape  sening  a  useful  purpose  when  we 
come  to  load  dry  earth.  The  rear  axle-tree  is  made  in 
one  piece  of  wrought  iron  2  inches  square.  The  king- 
bolt should  be  made  stout,  and  allowed  to  turn  freely  in 
the  forward  axle-tree.  To  carry  eggs  without  breakage, 
a  movable  stand  for  the  egg-basket,  furnished  with 
springs,  can  be  set  in  the  wagon.  A  low  sled  may  take 
the  place  of  the  wagon  when  the  season  requires  it. 

The  road  may  be  constructed  quite  narrow,  as  there 
will  be  no  occasion  to  pass  other  teams  ;  and  an  easy  way 
to  raise  a  path  sufiiciently  to  avoid  wet  is,  to  plow  a  strip 
of  ground  a  number  of  times  over,  always  throwing  the 


COLLECTING    AND    STORING    DRY    EARTH.  21 

furrows  towards  the  center,  and  the  rounded  ridges  thus 
made  with  ditches  on  each  side  is  to  remain  in  the  field 
permanently,  and  may  be  cropped  witli  the  rest  of  the 
land  if  desired.  The  wheels  of  the  wagon  are  made  with 
very  wide  tires,  as  shown  in  the  illustration,  and  must 
not  be  driven  in  the  same  track  twice  in  succession,  but 
used  as  rollers  to  smooth  down  the  whole  ridge,  for  there 
must  be  no  deep  ruts  to  cause  the  wagon-body  to  graze 
the  ground. 

COLLECTING   AND   STORING    DRY   EARTH. 

To  gather  and  store  dry  earth,  the  following  plan  is 
submitted  as  available  not  only  for  the  poultry  business, 
and  that  invaluable  invention,  the  earth-closet,  but  for 
preparing  absorbents  and  litter  for  stables  and  pig-pens. 
The  best  farmers  are  fast  learning  to  use  dry  earth  for 
all  their  animals,  not  only  for  the  cleanliness  and  health 
of  the  stock,  but  to  lighten  the  labor  of  attendance,  sub- 
stitute a  cheap  litter  for  straw,  and  save  every  particle  of 
manure. 

The  spot  of  ground  set  apart  for  the  dry  earth  harvest 


Fig.  3. — SCRAPER  FOR  DRT  EARTH. 

should  be  kept  free  from  weeds  and  turf,  and  harrowed 
as  shallow  as  possible,  using  a  harrow  with  numerous 
very  short  teeth.      The  ground  should  not  have  been 


1/ 


22. 


AN   EGG   FARM. 


plowed  for  a  year,  the  object  being  to  pulverize  it  only  at 
the  surface,  for  in  this  way  the  top  soil  can  be  better 
kept  from  absorbing  moisture  from  below,  reversing  the 
usual  maxims  of  tillage.  There  is  seldom  a  summer  with- 
out several  weeks  when  the  soil  for  a  couple  of  inches  is 
almost  dry.  This  is  the  time  to  proceed  with  the  work. 
The  implements  used  are  a  wide  scraper  (fig.  3)  5  feet 
long  and  10  inches  wide,  and  a  shovel  (fig.  4)  2  feet  3 
inches  long  and  2  feet  wide.  They  are  made  lighter  than 
similar  ones  designed  to  work  among  stones  and  gravel, 

and  both  are  in- 
tended to  be  al- 
ways used  in  a 
nearly  perpen- 
dicular position, 
and  therefore  the 
backs  need  not 
be  shod  for  wear, 
as  is  usual  with 
team  shovels  and 
scrapers.  They 
are  both  built 
of  wood,  edged 
and  bound  with 
iron.  The  shovel  is  made  somewhat  concave,  being  de- 
signed to  move  a  pretty  full  load  for  a  short  distance  ;  the 
scraper  which  only  skims  the  surface  is  made  straight.  A 
rope  is  substituted  for  the  iron  bail  for  draft  attachment 
in  the  shovel  to  make  it  lighter,  and  for  the  same  reason 
the  iron  edge  and  bands  are  thin.  The  mass  moved  being 
very  dry,  light,  and  mellow,  admits  of  a  rather  slight 
construction  of  the  implement ;  and  as  this  is  to  be  used 
by  backing  the  team  at  every  shovelful,  and  pulling  the 
shovel  back  by  liand,  as  little  weight  as  possible  is  desir- 
able. The  wooden  rod  connecting  the  two  crooked  handles 
of  the  shovel  is  essential,  serving  as  a  convenient  handle 


Fig.  4. — SHOVEL  FOB  DRY  EAKTH. 


COLLKCTING    AND   STORING    DUY    EARTH. 


23 


in  backing.  Now,  during  a  time  of  dry  weather,  by  har- 
rowing your  ground  with  the  short-toothed  harrow  half 
a  dozen  times  on  a  hot  day,  the  soil  will  become  suffi- 
ciently pulverized,  and  also  advanced  one  stage  in  dryness. 
The  next  day — watching  the  weather  as  closely  as  a  hay 
maker — hitch  your  horse  to  the  scraper,  and  try  to  scrape 
one  mch  deep,  no  more,  and  gather  the  earth  into  small 
winrows,  extending  regularly  across  the  field,  the  oper- 
ation being  like  raking  hay.  Kext  make  the  team  follow 
the  winrows,  and  cock  the  dirt  into  heaps  of  a  cart-load 
each.  Now,  you  have  piles  of  earth  nearly  dry,  but  they 
will  not  grow  any  drier  until  placed,  so  that  moisture 


i'xg.  O. — PLATFOBM  FOB  SBTINQ  fiABTH. 

cannot  be  absorbed  from  below.  To  complete  the  drying, 
platforms  of  boards  (fig.  5)  must  be  provided  :  these  are 
8  feet  square,  and  built  wedge-shaped,  and  14  inches  high 
at  the  highest  part.  These  are  now  drawn  by  the  team 
upon  the  planks  which  form  the  sides  and  serve  as  run- 
ners, and  located  one  by  each  heap  with  the  thin  edge 
towards  it. 

Attach  the  team  to  the  shovel  by  a  rope  about  12  feet 
long,  and  transfer  the  earth  to  the  platforms,  heaping  the 
first  shovelful  upon  tlie  edge  next  the  pile  to  cover  it,  so 
that  it  may  not  obstruct  tlie  shovel.  The  platforms 
should  be  on  the  north  side  of  the  heaps  at  the  commence- 
ment, so  as  to  slope  toward  the  south,  and  afford  direct 
exposure  to  the  sun.  In  two  or  three  days  of  fine  weather 
the  piles  will  be  nearly  as  free  from  moisture  as  if  kiln- 
dried,  if  the  earth  has  been  well  pulverized,  for  it  is  so 
loose  and  porous  that  the  moisture  from  the  bottom  finds 
its  wav  to  the  surface  as  fast  as  the  latter  dries.     If  the 


24 


AN    EGG    FARM. 


weather  becomes  threutening,  house  the  earth  without 
waitiug  for  further  drying,  or  cover  with  hay-caps,  ac- 
cording to  circumstances.  AVhen  ready  for  housing,  draw 
the  wagon  close  to  the  north  side  of  the  platform,  and 
connect  the  two  with  a  skid  5  feet  x  14  inches,  with  teeth 
projecting  over  the  body  to  hold  uj5  the  shovel,  and  let 
the  earth  drop  through.  The  same  length  of  rope  be- 
tween the  horse  and  shovel  will  be  needed  as  when  piling 
earth  upon  the  platforms.  Figure  6  shows  the  manner 
of  loading. 

The  flooring  of  the  wagon,  when  used  for  carrpng  feed 
and  water,  consists  of  movable  boards,  which  are  taken 


out  with  the  hind-board  when  preparing  to  haul  earth, 
and  1'  |,-inch  planks,  5  inches  wide,  with  planed  edges 
fitting  accurately,  are  substituted.  One  end  of  each  plank 
projects  a  few  inches  behind  the  body,  (fig.  7),  and  is  so 
narrowed  that  a  handspike  may  be  inserted  between  the 
planks.  By  pr^ang  them  up  one  at  a  time,  the  wagon  is 
readily  unloaded.  There  will  not  be  any  appreciable 
leakage  between  the  planks  in  hauling  40  or  50  rods,  and, 
to  save  travel,  the  earth  plat  should  not  be  more  than 
that  distance  from  the  store-room  at  farthest.  An  under- 
ground basement  in  the  granary  of  the  establishment  is 


COLLECTING    AND   STORING    DRY    EARTH.  25 

the  proper  store-room,  and,  by  driving  in  above,  the  load 
may  be  discharged  through  a  trap-door  in  the  floor  into 
a  capacious  hopper-shaped  bin.  Underneath  the  bin 
sliould  be  space  to  drive  in  winter  the  wagon  or  sled,  and, 
by  pulling  a  slide,  let  the  earth  fall  until  a  load  is  ob- 
tained to  be  carried  to  the  stations.  In  this  way  the 
earth  is  pulverized,  heaped  upon  the  drying  platforms, 
loaded  upon  the  wagon,  transferred  to  the  bin,  and  re- 
loaded, without  touching  a  hand-shovel  to  it  at  all.    The 

^g^_  _  _ .  _^^  wagon  may  be  loaded  with  the 

t^gs:-'"^^""'^  '""Zl    aid  of  the  team  shovel  in  less 

^p- ■;    than  three  minutes.     The  far- 

^p»ssg^-^^"— "^^^ ^^^    mer  may  make  an   earth-bin, 
„.    „    ^, ,  ^         ^       of  the  kind  described,  in  his 

Fig.  7. — BOTTOM  OF   DBAT.  ' 

barn  cellar  under  a  trap  in 
the  bam  floor.  The  earth,  upon  a  tract  of  such  mel- 
low loam  as  is  suitable  for  poultry,  will  become,  by  pul- 
verizing and  drying,  reduced  completely  to  dust.  The 
loading  and  unloading  by  team  power  not  only  saves  la- 
bor, but  overcomes  the  difficulties  inseparable  from  shovel- 
ing such  a  light  powder,  that  flies  at  the  least  wind.  Of 
course  only  slight  pulverization  will  be  best  in  preparing 
dirt  for  the  earth-closet  and  stable,  but  for  poultry  the  finer 
the  better.  In  the  fall,  when  dry  weather  gives  oppor- 
tunity, labor  may  be  still  further  saved  by  scraping  heaps 
of  dry  earth  directly  upon  the  winter  sites  of  the  fowl- 
houses,  and  drawing  as  many  of  the  latter  as  are  rendered 
tenantless  by  the  sale  of  the  old  stock  upon  the  heaps, 
Avliere  the  earth  can  remain  sheltered  awaiting  the  new 
flocks  of  pullets,  and  no  wagon  is  needed  at  all  for  the 
earth  in  that  case. 

After  the  dry  earth  has  been  used  in  the  houses  through 
the  winter,  the  final  disposition  of  it  must  be  made  in  the 
spring,  as  much  with  an  eye  to  labor-saving  as  in  collect- 
ing it.  The  fowl-houses  are  to  be  pried  up  to  loosen  their 
sills  from  the  dust-heap  in  which  they  are  embedded,  and 


26 


AN    liGG    FARM. 


drawn  off  to  summer  quarters.     Then  the  earth,  mixed 
with  the  manure,  is  to  be  first-moved  with  the  shovel, 

and  scattered  about  the 
immediate  vicinity,  one 
shovelful  in  a  place. 
The  scraper  is  next  used 
to  spread  the  heaps,  and 
the  harrow  comes  last, 
reversing  the  order  of 
gathering. 

HOUSES   I'OR  LAYERS. 


The  form,  proportion s, 
and  fixtures  of  the  fowl- 
house  for  a  few  eggs 
and  chickens  for  home 
use,  are  of  small  con- 
sequence, so  long  as  the 
«  proprietor  has  invented 
something  a  little  differ- 
ent from  what  has  ever 
been  made  before,  and  is 
satisfied.  But  business 
upon  a  large  scale  de- 
mands buildings  that 
shall  conduce  in  the 
highest  degree  to  the 
thrift  of  their  inmates, 
and  to  the  convenience 
of  the  attendant,  while 
the  outlay  in  both  ma- 
terial and  construction 
should  be  the  lowest 
possible.  The  buildings 
for  each  fowl  provided 
or  more  per 


generally  put  up  cost  12  or 

for,  while  amateurs  sometimes  expend 


HOUSES   FOR   LAYERS.  27 

head  for  the  housing  of  their  poultry.  There  are  three 
classes  of  adult  fowls  necessary  under  our  plan,  which  we 
designate  breeders,  sitters,  and  layers  ;  and  the  latter, 
which  are  most  numerous,  are  housed  at  a  cost  of  ma- 
terials not  exceeding  40c.  for  each  bird  ;  estimates  being 
based  on  hemlock  lumber  at  123  per  thousand.  The  ac- 
commodations for  the  breeding  and  sitting  stock  are 
necessarily  more  expensive,  and  there  is,  in  addition,  the 
cost  of  coops  and  fixtures  for  raising  chickens  enough  to 
replace  two-thirds  of  the  adults  yearly. 

In  a  practical  and  economical  fowl-house,  we  expect 
nothing  ornamental  nor  complicated.  There  are  no  inge- 
nious ventilators  cheap  at  13  each,  or  patent  nests  to  be- 
guile hens  into  laying  more  or  bigger  eggs,  or  rat-proof 
feeding  hoppers  opening  by  clock-work,  but  the  utmost 
simplicity  is  sought  throughout. 

The  house  u'sed  at  the  stations,  for  the  layers,  is  shown 
at  figure  8.  It  is  not  too  large  to  be  moved  with  con- 
venience, and  nothing  smaller  would  accommodate  a  flock 
of  fifty,  the  number  to  be  kept  at  each  station,  with 
perches,  nests,  and  sufficient  ground  room  in  stormy 
weather,  and  at  the  same  time  afford  higlit  enough  to 
give  a  circulation  of  air  over  the  perches,  and  a  proper 
pitch  of  roof.  It  is  15  feet  long,  8'|,  feet  wide,  and  4'|, 
feet  hio-h  at  the  peak.  Let  it  be  noted  that  any  attempt  to 
build  so  that  the  attendant  may  enter,  either  makes  a  stoop- 
ing, slow  job  of  every  operation,  from  year's  end  to  year's 
end,  or  if  the  house  is  carried  high  enough  to  allow  standing 
upright,  the  weight  interferes  with  moving,  and  the  lumber 
costs  too  much.  It  is  as  easy  to  reach  into  a  building 
designed  for  the  keeper  to  stand  outside,  as  to  reach  into 
a  handy  cupboard.  To  give  sufficient  air,  the  room  is  as 
lofty  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  birds  or  their  breath 
ing  capacity,  as  a  stable  twenty  feet  high  would  be  for 
cattle.  It  is  just  about  as  necessary  for  the  poulterer  to 
have  a  roof  over  his  head  for  protection  in  all  weathers 


28  AN   EGG   FARM. 

while  at  work,  as  in  the  plan  the  National  Poultry  Co. 
carried  out  at  Bromley,  Kent,  in  England,  as  it  is  for  a 
farmer  to  make  a  shed  over  his  land  to  defend  his  com- 
plexion from  the  sun  while  haying,  and  the  rain  while 
transplanting  cabbages.  The  part  of  the  roof  on  the 
south  side  at  ^4,  A,  A,  and  nearly  all  on  the  north,  con- 
sists of  hinged  doors  opening  to  the  right  or  left,  and 
overlapping  when  closed,  to  shed  rain.  A\  hen  it  is  de- 
sired to  whitewash,  throw  open  all  the  doors,  thus  turn- 
ing the  house  inside  out,  take  out  the  perches  and  nests, 
all  built  movable,  and  there  will  be  no  nook  or  cranny  of 
the  woodwork  that  the  brush  can  not  be  made  to  reach 
with  ease,  and  no  lack  of  elbow-room.  This  arrangement 
of  doors  makes  it  convenient  also  to  catch  fowls  upon  the 
perches  by  night.  The  doors  should  shut  as  snugly  as 
may  be  in  coarse  joiner  work,  and  the  cracks  unavoidably 
left  around  them  will  afford  all  the  ventilation  needed  in 
winter,  while  in  summer  they  may  be  opened  more  or 
less  widely,  according  to  the  weather.  When  it  is  warm, 
jet  wet,  they  may  be  partly  opened  and  propped  up,  and 
a  board  put  across  their  edges  to  shed  rain.  It  jfi  very 
desirable,  under  any  plan  for  henneries,  to  build  so  that 
while  moderately  tight  in  winter,  they  may  be  thrown 
open  on  every  side  in  hot  weather  ;  for  fowls  are  warmly 
clad,  and  suffer  much  from  the  heat  when  in  buildings 
made,  as  is  too  frequently  the  case,  only  "wath  reference 
to  the  cold.  The  doors  which  form  the  north  roof  project 
6  inches  at  the  ridge  to  keep  out  rain,  as  there  is  no 
ridge-cap.  The  two  windows  in  the  south  roof  are  glazed 
greenhouse  fashion,  that  is,  with  overlapping  panes,  tbat 
snow  may  slide  from  them  readily  as  soon  as  loosened  by 
the  warmth  inside.  They  are  2  feet  high  and  3  feet  wide, 
and  set  18  inches  from  the  peak  of  the  roof.  A  strip  of 
tin  is  fastened  over  the  upper  part  of  the  sash,  and  the 
sides  and  bottom  of  the  sash  overlap  the  roof,  to  be  rain- 
proof.    The  shutters,  B,  B,  used  to  darken  the  building 


HOUSES   FOR   LAYERS.  29 

on  certain  necessary  occasions,  elsewhere  referred  to,  are 
hinged  to  the  lower  part  of  the  sash,  and  when  opened, 
as  in  the  illustration,  rest  upon  the  roof  below  the  win- 
dows. The  side  sills  project  at  both  ends  of  the  building, 
they  are  beveled  runner  fashion,  and  strengthened  with 
iron  where  holes  are  bored  to  attach  chains ;  thus  the 
house  may  be  drawn  by  either  end.     The  sills,  which  re- 
ceive the  principal  strain  during  moving,  should  be  so 
well  braced  as  to  keep  the  whole  building  in  shape.    The 
end  sills,  of  3-inch  plank,  should  be  spiked  upon  the  top 
of  the  others,  flatwise,  so  as  not  to  touch  the  ground 
while  moving,  and  the  side-sills,  4  inches  square,  should 
be  of  chestnut  or  oak,  to  be  as  durable  as  possible,  for 
they  rest  on  the  ground  during  a  good  part  of  the  year. 
The  spruce  rafters,  2x3  inches,  which  answer  for  studs 
and  rafters  both,  should  be  set  at  such  distances  apart  as 
will  correspond  with  the  width  o'f  the  doors  and  windows 
which  are  fastened  to  them.     A  stout  ridge-pole,  sawn 
of  a  triangular  shape,  runs  the  length  of  the  building 
underneath  the  rafters,  and  two  sticks  are  fastened  to 
this  ridge-pole,  one  5  feet  from  each  end,  and  braced  upon 
the  center  of  the  end  sills  to  give  firmness,  for  the  cover- 
ing, consisting  chiefly  of  doors,  does  not  strengthen  the 
building,  as  in  ordinary  cases,  where  the  covering  is  nail- 
ed to  the  frame.     C,  C,  are  doors,  each  3  feet  x  1  foot, 
opening  outwards  and  downwards,  to  give  the  keeper  ac- 
cess to  the  nests,  which  are  1  foot  square,  and  the  same 
in  depth,  and  so  contrived  that  the  hens  enter  them  at 
one  side  from  a  passage  6  inches  wide  and  1  foot  high, 
boarded  at  side  and  top,  running  the  length  of  the  row 
of  nests,  and  are  thus  indulged  in  their  liking  for  privacy 
while  laying.     The  nests  are  tight  upon  the  top,  the  out- 
side door  should  fit  closely,  and  the  opening  admitting 
the  fowls  to  the  passage  be  made  so  small  that  the  nests 
will  be  rather  dark.  It  is  found  that  when  nests  are  open 
to  view  from  the  main  apartment,  hens  will,  in  stormy 


30  AN    EGG   FAKM. 

weather,  for  lack  of  other  employment,  sometimes  enter 
them  to  scratch  for  food,  and  thus  by  chance  break  eggs 
and  learn  to  eat  them,  and  acquire  the  habit  of  pecking 
at  and  devouring  eggs  as  fast  as  laid.  But  a  darkened 
nest  will  deter  them  from  entering,  except  to  lay,  for 
which  purpose  they  prefer  a  dark,  low  corner.  There  is 
a  row  of  six  nests  running  across  the  building  at  each 
end,  making  twelve,  which  will  be  sufficient,  as  it  will 
not  happen  that  more  than  that  number  out  of  a  flock 
will  need  them  at  once.  The  passages  are  made  so  that 
they  may  be  taken  out  with  the  nests  for  whitewashing. 
The  end  sills,  of  plank  18  inches  wide,  serve  as  a  tight 
floor  for  the  nests  and  passage.  The  perches,  two  in 
number,  are  18  inches  apart,  and  each  is  18  inches  from 
the  roof,  and  3  feet  higher  than  the  sills.  Perches  should 
be  of  ^'Ij^S'l^-inch  sawed  stuff,  the  widest  part  up,  Avith 
the  upper  corners  rounde'd  off  a  very  little.  When  fowls 
not  fully  grown  roost  upon  narrow  perches,  their  breast- 
bones sometimes  become  deformed.  From  four  to  five 
average-sized  fowls  will  occupy  2  feet  of  perch.  The 
perches,  being  each  12  feet  long,  will  accommodate  a  flock 
of  fifty,  and  are  to  be  placed  so  as  not  to  extend  over  the 
part  occupied  by  the  nests.  The  drinking  vessel  stands 
upon  one  of  the  platforms  formed  by  the  nests,  and  upon 
these  platforms  are  also  shallow  boxes  containing  gravel, 
pounded  charcoal,  and  a  mixture  of  loam,  sand,  and 
oyster-shell  lime,  made  into  an  easily  crumbled  mortar. 
The  boxes  are  10  inches  wide,  and,  being  placed  next  the 
end  wall,  leave  a  space  8  inches  wide  upon  the  platform, 
for  the  fowls  to  stand  upon.  The  drinking  pail  and  gravel 
boxes  are  protected  by  their  elevation  from  the  dirt  that 
would  otherwise  be  thrown  into  them  by  the  fowls  when 
scratching  and  dusting,  and  are  fronted  by  slats  with 
openings  6x2^|^  inches  between  them.  An  opening  is 
made  in  the  end  wall  over  the  pail  that  is  just  large 
enough  to  admit  the  spout  of  a  large  watering-pot  with- 


HOUSES   FOK   LAYERS.  31 

out  the  sprinkler,  to  afford  the  most  convenient  arrange- 
ment for  watering.  The  door,  D,  1  foot  wide,  opening 
downwards,  is  for  removing  the  pail  and  gravel  boxes 
when  desired,  and  when  fastened  ajar  will  be  found  more 
convenient  for  ventilation  than  the  roof  doors,  when  the 
weather  is  only  moderately  warm.  Both  ends  of  the 
building  alike  are  furnished  with  doors. 

During  the  severest  weather,  generally  about  three  or 
three  and  a  half  months  of  the  year,  this  building  does 
not  stand  with  sills  upon  the  ground,  but  for  winter  it 
rests,  as  in  figure  8,  upon  the  edges  of  a  box  or  bin  of  di- 
mensions corresponding  with  the  center  of  the  sills  of  the 
building,  made  of  planks  9  inches  wide  and  2  thick,  like 
a  mortar-bed  with  no  bottom,  filled  with  dry  earth.  This 
should  be  set  upon  ridges  thrown  up  by  the  plow,  as  pre- 
viously described,  and  it  will  be  found  that,  by  starting 
with  the  earth  dry  in  the  fall,  it  will  not  absorb  moisture 
from  the  ground  beneath  during  winter,  any  faster  than 
it  dries  away  from  the  surface  where  the  fowls  keep  it  in 
motion.  There  need  be  no  cleaning  of  the  house  while 
thus  arranged  for  winter,  but  about  once  a  month  an  inch 
or  two  of  dry  earth  may  be  added.  There  will  be  no  ac- 
cumulations under  the  perches  if  the  birds  are  kept  not 
too  profusely  supplied  with  gravel  at  that  season,  as  they 
should  be  to  induce  them  to  thoroughly  pulverize  every 
portion  of  the  manure  and  mix  it  with  the  dry  earth,  in 
search  of  the  gravel  which  is  very  frequently  voided. 
There  can  be  no  objection  to  saving  labor  by  inducing 
the  birds  to  perform  the  work  of  scavengers,  which  will 
give  them  salutary  exercise,  for  it  is  not  intended  that 
they  shall  be  deprived  of  as  much  gravel  as  they  need, 
but  only  forced  to  use  the  same  many  times  over.  The 
bin,  as  it  may  be  called,  should  be  strengthened  with 
braces  across  the  corners,  and  kept  from  spreading  by  the 
pressure  of  its  contents  by  strips  nailed  from  side  to  side. 
After  the  building  has  been  moved  in  spring  to  a  new 


32  AN    EGG   FARM. 

station,  the  bin  is  to  be  pried  up  until  the  earth  drops 
through,  it  having  no  bottom,  and  when  empty  it  may 
be  readily  hauled  by  team,  like  a  sled,  to  the  place  where 
it  is  to  be  used,  as  will  be  explained,  in  connection  with 
chicken  raising.  The  building  is  hauled  on  to  this  bin 
in  the  fall  and  off  by  taking  the  wedge-shaped  platform 
for  drying  earth,  previously  figured,  for  a  skid,  and  at- 
taching the  team  to  a  rope  20  feet  or  more  long,  and 
using  small  rollers.  It  is  a  quick  and  not  over  trouble- 
some operation,  for  it  must  be  recollected  that  the  house 
is  not  large  nor  heavy. 

FEEDING  HOUSE  FOR  WINTER. 

During  the  winter,  a  low  structure,  6  feet  wide  and  12 
long,  and  V\^  high  on  one  side,  and  S'l^  on  the  other, 
seen  at  the  left  in  figure  8,  serves  the  purpose  of  a  feed- 
ing room,  and  the  rest  of  the  year  is  used  as  a  shelter  for 
chickens.  Its  winter  location  is  about  4  feet  from  the 
larger  building.  E,  E,  E,  E,  represent  doors  which  over- 
lap each  other  to  shed  rain,  and  when  closed  rest  upon 
the  highest  or  north  wall,  and  open  upwards  and  to  the 
south,  resting  upon  a  rail  attached  to  posts  set  in  the 
ground.  In  each  door  is  a  window  3  feet  square,  glazed, 
as  are  all  the  windows  in  the  various  fowl-houses,  green- 
house style.  This  feed-house  is  movable,  being  furnished 
with  planks  set  edgewise,  with  runner-shaped  ends  for 
side  sills.  Inside,  a  feed-box,  slatted  on  both  sides,  rests 
on  cleats  attached  to  the  end  walls,  20  inches  from  the 
north  wall,  and  near  the  top  of  the  room,  so  that  dirt 
can  not  be  scratched  into  it.  It  has  a  shelf  7  inches  wide 
on  both  sides  in  front  of  the  slats,  on  which  the  birds 
stand  while  feeding,  and  contains  a  trough  made  by  nail- 
ing boards  3  inches  wide  to  each  edge  of  a  board  5  inches 
wide.  A  door,  F,  in  one  end  of  the  feed-room,  large 
enough  to  admit  a  fowl,  communicates  with  a  similar 


FEEDING   HOUSE   FOR   WINTEE.  33 

door,  G,  in  the  south  side  of  the  main  building,  by  a 
movable  covered  passage,  5'  1^  feet  long,  1'  |^  high,  and  1 
wide,  it  being  like  a  box  with  a  lid,  and  but  one  end,  and 
with  an  opening  on  one  side.  This  passage  is  not  shown 
in  the  illustration.  Every  night  in  winter,  after  the  fowls 
are  at  roost,  the  door  G^  should  be  closed,  and  the  window- 
shutters  of  the  main  building  likewise.  In  the  morning 
a  mixture  of  vegetables,  boiled  and  mashed,  scalded  meal, 
and  a  little  meat  boiled  and  chopped  fine,  is  placed  in  the 
feed-trough,  and  the  daily  rations  of  hard  grain  buried 
underneath  straw  which  covers  the  ground  of  the  feeding 
apartment  to  the  depth  of  8  or  10  inches.  The  fowls  are 
prevented  by  the  shutters  from  looking  on.  Next  open 
the  passage,  and  in  a  minute  the  fowls  will  all  be  at  the 
feed-box.  After  finishing  the  soft  feed,  the  grain,  con- 
sisting in  part  of  buckwheat  or  cracked  corn  or  wheat 
screenings,  so  as  to  make  as  much  work  as  possible  to 
find  it,  will  be  scratched  for  at  intervals  all  day  long.  A 
little  practice  will  enable  the  attendant  to  give  just 
enough,  and  have  none  left  over  night. 

During  a  few  of  the  coldest  spells,  such  as  usually  occur 
three  or  four  times  in  the  winter,  and  last  three  to  seven 
days,  and  during  storms,  fowls  prefer  to  remain  in  doors 
all  day,  but  they  should  never,  except  in  the  morning, 
before  feeding,  be  prevented  from  going  out  if  they 
choose.  Altogether  there  are  not  usually  twenty  days  in 
a  year  during  which  fowls  will  voluntarily  keep  inside  all 
day.  Snow  should  be  cleared  from  a  plat  of  ground  at 
each  station,  with  the  aid  of  the  team,  and  the  scraper 
and  shovel  previously  described.  If  the  winter  is  open 
and  mild,  have  a  pile  of  straw  out  of  doors  with  grain 
buried  under  it.  As  soon  as  the  buildings  are  moved  to 
the  new  stations  in  spring,  and  the  feeding-rooms  are  also 
drawn  off  to  be  used  in  housing  young  chickens,  the  feed- 
boxes  are  taken  out,  they  merely  resting  on  cleats,  without 
being  fastened,  and  carried  to  the  stations,  where  they 


34 


AN   EGG   FAEM. 


stand  on  the  ground  out  of  doors  during  summer,  for  use 
each  morning,  feed  being  placed  in  them,  out  of  sight  of 
the  birds,  as  before. 

Figure  9  is  an  illustration  of  the  summer  arrangement; 
in  this  the  feed-box  is  seen  in  the  foreground,  and  the 
doors  in  both  roofs  of  the  house  are  propped  up  a  little, 
as  in  cases  of  extremely  hot  weather.  It  will  be  found 
that  the  birds  will  seek  the  protection  of  a  building  thus 


Fig.  9. — HOUSE  FOB  LATEKS— SUMMER  ABKANGEMEHT. 

arranged,  for  shade,  when  the  heat  is  severe,  in  preference 
to  any  other  place.  In  summer  the  grain  is  buried  under 
a  profuse  allowance  of  straw,  by  the  use  of  a  horse-rake 
and  hay  tedder,  or  under  the  soil,  by  means  of  the  fine 
and  short-toothed  harrow  nsed  in  pulverizing  earth  for 
gathering,  as  before  mentioned. 


HOUSES  FOR  SITTERS. 

The  stock  used  for  hatching  purposes  is  managed  dif- 
ferently from  the  layers,  and  needs  different  accommoda- 
tions. The  houses  for  sitters,  fig.  10,  are  near  the  center 
of  the  farm  where  the  granary  and  cook-room  are  located. 
They  accommodate  100  fowls  each,  are  not  movable,  and 
are  set  upon  a  stone  or  brick  underpinning,  10  inches 
high.     They  are  10  feet  4  inches  from  the  ground  to  the 


HOUSES   FOR   SITTERS. 


35 


peak,  and  20  feet  long  by  way  of  the  ridge,  and  16  feet 
wide.  The  roofs  are  shingled,  and  the  ends  of  the  build- 
ings covered  with  boards  nailed  upright  and  battened. 
About  one-third  of  the  roof  towards  the  south  is  glazed 
the  windows  being  partially  darkened  as  warm  weather 
approaches.  The  form  of  these  houses,  like  that  of  all  in 
the  establishment,  with  eaves  near  the  ground,  is  adapted 
to  afford  as  much  ground  room  as  possible  in  proportion 


10. — HOUSE  FOa   SITTEkS. 


to  the  lumber  used.  The  roof  of  each  house  is  crossed 
outside  by  a  picket  fence  running  at  right  angles  with  the 
ridge.  This  fence  forms  one  side  of  the  yard  with  which 
each  house  is  furnished,  and  though  it  extends  only  18 
inches  above  the  ridge  of  the  building,  the  sitters,  not 
being  of  a  high-flying  breed,  will  not  get  over  it.  By  this 
arrangement  exit  is  afforded  to  the  fowls  and  to  their 
keeper  at  either  end  of  the  building,  into  a  yard  which  is 
located  at  either  end  on  alternate  years.  The  two  ends 
of  the  house,  one  fronting  cast  and  the  other  west,  are 
both  provided  exactly  alike  with  doors  and  windows.  The 


$6 


AN    EGG    FARM. 


large  doors  are  6'  I,  x  3  feet,  opening  outwards,  and  the 
smaller  ones  attached  to  them  are  7x9  inches.  The  win- 
dows are  2  X  3  feet,  and  are  hinged,  opening  upwards  for 
ventilation.  In  hot  weather  the  windows  and  doors  in 
both  ends  of  the  building  are  opened  wide,  and  to  prevent 
the  fowls  escaping  at  the  end  where  there  is  no  yard, wire 
netting  is  fastened  across  the  windoAV  casings  inside,  and 
there  is  an  inside  door  of  the  same  material  hung  to  the 
stud  to  which  the  outside  door  is  hinged.  Figure  11  gives 
an  interior  view  of  the  house.     There  are  four  perches. 


Fig.  11. — HOUSE  FOR  SITTERS — IKTERIOB. 

each  15  feet  long,  and  of  the  width  and  thickness  of  those 
for  layers.  They  are  placed  18  inches  higher  than  the 
top  of  the  underpinning,  those  nearest  the  nests  being 
3' I,  feet,  and  those  nearest  the  eaves  5'|,  feet  from  the 
center  of  the  building.  A  space  2'  |,  feet  wide  at  each  end 
of  the  room  is  left  unoccupied  by  the  perches.  Three 
tiers  of  nests  occupy  the  center  of  the  room,  each  tier 
consisting  of  two  rows  placed  back  to  back,  and  running 
in  the  same  direction  as  the  perches.  There  are  12  nests 
in  each  row,  or  72  in  all,  and  as  eacli  nest  is  1  foot  square 
and  1  foot  high,  they  occupy  12  feet  in  length.     This 


HOUSES   FOR   SITTERS.  37 

allows  a  space  of  4  feet  at  each  end  of  the  building  be- 
tween the  nests  and  the  doors,  and  as  the  latter  are 
planned  of  a  sufficient  width  to  admit  a  wheelbarrow, 
and  the  perches  are  made  so  as  to  be  easily  moved,  op- 
portunity is  afforded  to  wheel  in  or  out  the  dry  earth 
which  fills  the  bottom  of  the  room  nearly  up  to  the  top 
•'of  the  underpinning.  There  are  nests  enough  so  that 
forty  or  fifty  hens  may  be  set  at  once,  and  leave  room  for 
fowls  that  are  laying.  The  nests  are  placed  so  that  the 
bottom  of  the  lower  ones  are  6  inches  higher  than  the 
perches,  this  hight  enabling  the  attendant  to  avoid  stoop- 
ing, as  there  is  much  work  to  be  done  about  the  nests  of 
sitting  hens ;  while  they  are  not  so  high  as  to  prevent  the 
fowls  reaching  them  by  flying  upon  the  nearest  perch,  or 
as  to  render  a  ladder  necessary.  The  nests  are  made  so 
that  the  hens  enter  them  at  the  front,  where  a  2-inch 
strip  set  edgewise  prevents  the  eggs  from  tumbling  out. 
An  alighting-board  projects  2'  [^  inches  in  front  of  each 
row  of  nests.  The  partitions  at  the  backs  of  the  nests 
are  made  of  wire-cloth  of  a  mesh  fine  enough  to  keep  out 
rats,  those  at  the  sides  of  the  same  and  of  a  coarse  wire 
netting,  alternately,  for  purposes  described  in  another 
place.  In  this  way  the  circulation  of  air  is  allowed  for 
the  health  of  the  sitters.  Sufficient  attention  is  not  gen- 
erally given  to  this  point.  Fowls  in  a  state  of  nature 
being  accustomed  to  scratch  holes  in  the  ground  under 
bushes,  to  form  their  nests  and  incubate  where  there  is 
plenty  of  air,  pant  and  show  distress  in  hot  weather  when 
forced  to  occupy  close  boxes.  Large  doors  of  wire  net- 
ting, with  coarse  meshes,  not  shown  in  the  illustration, 
prevent  the  fowls  roosting  at  the  entrance  to  the  nests  at 
night.  These  doors  are  closed  after  gathering  the  eggs 
towards  evening,  and  opened  again  the  first  thing  in  the 
morning,  and  are  made  in  two  parts,  folding  together,  so 
that  there  may  be  room  for  them  overhead,  when  raised. 
A  piece  of  rat-proof  wire-cloth  is  placed  in  front  of  a  nest 


38 


AN    EGG   FARM. 


occupied  by  a  hen  engaged  in  hatching,  and  fastened  by 
buttons,  to  keep  out  laying  fowls  by  day  and  rats  by 
night.  To  keep  the  fowls  from  using  the  upper  part  of 
the  room  as  a  roosting  place,  lath-work,  a  part  of  Avhich 
is  shown  in  the  figure,  extends  from  the  top  of  the  upper 
nests  to  the  roof.  Underneath  the  lower  tier  of  nests  is 
placed  a  feed-box,  made  like  those  with  which  the  houses 
for  layers  are  furnished,  and  others  of  the  same  construc- 
tion should  be  placed  on  the  ground  at  the  ends  of  the 
perches,  and  at  right  angles  with  the  latter.  Five  houses 
for  sitters,  each  with  its  yard,  will  be  required  for  an 


D 


0- 


D 


% 


E 


D 


% 


E 


D 


W 


E 


Fig.  12.— PLAN  OF  TARDS  FOB  SITTERS. 

establishment  of  the  size  we  are  describing.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  yards  is  shown  by  fig.  12.  The  fence.  A,  B^ 
is  made  like  the  buildings  C,  non-movable.  The  fences 
on  the  remaining  three  sides  of  the  yards  are  moved 
yearly.  Suppose  that  last  year  the  yards  were  located  at 
E ;  then  this  year  they  are  at  Z>,  and  E  is  devoted  to 
crops.  A  strip  of  ground  is  left  untilled  near  the  doors 
of  the  buildings  for  a  wagon  path.  To  keep  the  yards 
free  from  taint  and  afford  scratching  ground,  a  part  of 
each  is  plowed  occasionally  during  the  season  when  they 
are  occupied  by  the  fowls.  All  the  fences  running  east 
and  west,  as  F,  B,  are  composed  of  gates,  so  that  by  open- 


AEEANGEMENTS  FOR  BREEDING  STOCK.        39 

ing,  for  instance,  at  F,  G,  through  the  whole  range  of 
yards,  a  strip  of  each  may  be  plowed,  and  in  a  few  days 
the  operation  may  be  repeated  at  another  part  of  the 
yards. 

ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  BREEDING  STOCK 

The  quarters  for  the  breeding  stock  combine  houses 
very  much  like  those  for  layers,  and  yards  like  those  for 
sitters,  only  both  are  smaller.  The  houses  for  layers  are 
movable,  with  no  yards  ;  the  houses  for  sitters  are  sta- 


Fig.  13. — HOUSE  FOB  BKKEDEKS. 

tionary,  with  movable  yards  ;  and  the  houses  and  yards 
for  breeders  are  both  movable.  The  breeders  are  kept  in 
fives  and  tens,  no  flock  ever  to  exceed  the  latter  number. 
The  buildings  are  of  two  sizes,  one  3'  j,  feet  wide,  4  long, 
and  2'  \^  high,  and  the  other  of  the  same  width  and  hight, 
and  T  \^  feet  long.  There  are  no  runners,  and  the  doors 
are  few  in  number,  though  comprising  the  whole  roof ; 
each  house  (fig.  13)  is  furnished  with  but  one  window, 
and  but  two  or  three  nests  are  necessary,  and  one  perch. 
Otherwise  the  houses  are  like  those  for  layers  on  a  re- 
duced scale.  They  are  designed  to  be  moved  by  two  per- 
sons, adjustable  handles  being  attached  at  either  end  for 
this  purpose.  In  this  way,  being  without  floors,  they  are 
shifted  to  different  parts  of  the  yards,  and  set  on  ridges 
of  eartli  raised  by  the  plow.  In  winter  each  stands  upon 
the  edges  of  a  dust-bin  of  2  x  8-inch  plank.  The  arrange- 
ment of  gates  to  admit  the  team  for  plowing,  the  sta- 


40 


AN   EGG   FARM. 


tionary  fence  at  one  side  of  the  yards,  and  the  shifting 
of  the  latter  to  allow  tillage,  are  the  same  as  for  sitters, 
Avifch  the  exception  that  the  stationary  fence  is  entirely 
detached  from  the  houses.  The  movable  fences  for  the 
yards  of  both  sitters  and  breeders  are  made  as  follows  : 
Pickets  2  inches  wide,  '  |  ^  inch  thick,  and  6  feet  long,  are 
nailed  to  two  rails  3  inches  square,  and  12  feet  long.  At 
both  ends  of  every  rail,  U-shaped  pieces  of  stout  hogs- 
head hoop-iron  are  fastened  by  screws  so  as  to  form  sta- 
ples through  which  round  posts,  7'  j^  feet  long,  and  2'  |, 
inclies  in  diameter,  pointed  at  both  ends,  are  thrust,  and 
set  in  the  ground.  The  rails  in  the  alternate  sections  are 
at  such  distances  apart  that  the  tops  of  the  pickets  shall 
be  in  line,  and  the  staples  not  interfere  with  those  of  the 


Fig.  14. — YARDS  AND  HOUSES  FOR  BKEEDEBS. 

adjoining  sections.  Each  post  is  supported  so  as  to  resist 
the  winds  to  which  the  fences  expose  so  much  surface, 
by  a  brace  upon  the  outside  of  the  yard  (fig,  14).  This 
brace  is  made  by  sawing  a  rail  stick  in  two,  and  furnish- 
ing each  end  with  a  staple  like  those  upon  the  rails.  The 
staples  are  fastened  upon  the  braces  in  an  obtuse  angle, 
and  the  ends  of  the  braces  are  beveled,  the  better  to  fit 
the  posts.  One  of  these  staples  passes  around  the  post 
between  the  two  staples  of  the  upper  rails,  and  through 
the  lower  one,  which  reaches  to  the  ground,  a  short  stake 
is  driven  into  the  earth,  with  its  top  inclining  away  from 
tlie  fence  (fig.  15).  The  gates  which  compose  the  entire 
sides  of  the  yards  where  the  team  passes  in  plowing,  are 


FOWLS   FOB   LAYERS. 


41 


hinged  to  stout  posts,  which  are  braced  in  a  similar  way. 
The  stationary  fence  represented  in  fig.  10,  and  the  cor- 
responding one  which  forms  a  part  of  the  breeding  yards, 
are  made  substantially  with  posts  of  good  size,  deeply  set 
in  the  ground,  so  as  to  stand  without  braces.  The  gates 
occupy  a  space  of  13  feet  each,  the 
same  as  a  section  of  the  movable 
fence.  The  smaller  breeding  yards 
for  five  birds  are  13  feet  square  (fig. 
14) ;  the  larger  ones  for  ten  birds 
are  34  feet  square,  and  the  yards  for 
sitters  are  48  feet,  or  in  each  case  a 
fraction  over  these  figures,  to  allow 
for  the  room  occupied  by  the  posts  ; 
the  design  being  to  use  one,  two,  or 
four  gates,  or  movable  sections,  to 
make  one  side  of  a  yard.  The  open- 
ings between  the  pickets  are  3'!^ 
inches  wide  for  breeders  ;  for  sitters 
Avliich  are  of  larger  breed,  3  inches 
are  allowed.  The  pickets  are  nailed 
on  the  yard  side  of  the  rails,  to  pre-  ^' 
vent  fowls  alighting  on  the  latter.  The 
divide  the  breeding-yards  arc  boarded  for  2  feet  at  the 
bottom,  to  keep  neighboring  cocks  from  fighting. 

FOWLS  FOR  LAYERS. 


MOVABLE  FENCE. 


gates 


which 


The  layers  must  be  of  a  breed  that  affords  chickens 
easily  reared,  for  success  in  the  nursery  department  is  all- 
important;  they  must  be  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  prolific 
layers  of  fair-sized  eggs.  None  but  a  non-sitting  race  will 
answer,  for  sitters  make  fully  double  the  labor  during 
half  of  the  year  ;  and  the  feathers  must  be  light,  because 
dark  ones  show  badly  when  chickens  are  dressed.  There 
is  at  present  no  breed  that  fulfills  all  these  conditions  so 
well  as  the  White  Leghorn.     It  may  degenerate  in  time. 


42  AST   EGG   FARM. 

« 

as  other  races  of  fowls  have  done,  by  being  bred  for  fancy 
instead  of  utility,  but  it  possesses  now  more  vigor  than 
any  other  non-sitting  breed.  Excessive  wattles,  comb, 
and  tail,  prized  by  the  fanciers,  are  for  our  purpose  avoid- 
ed, and  by  selecting  the  most  moderate  combs  and  other 
appendages  for  a  number  of  generations,  our  stock  appears 
as  in  fig.  16,  which,  like  all  of  our  illustrations,  was  drawn 
from  life.  In  breeding  poultry,  show  and  utility  do  not 
get  on  well  together  in  the  long  run.  To  fanciers  un- 
questionably belongs  the  credit  of  originating  improved 
breeds,  but  afterwards,  in  fixing  conventional  points  for 
the  show-room,  the  stock  is  often  ruined  in  their  hands. 
To  prevent  the  freezing  of  the  combs  and  wattles  during 
severe  winters,  they  should  be  "  dubbed"  Avhen  the  birds 
are  two-thirds  grown,  as  shown  in  figure  17.  The  oper- 
ation is  not  so  painful  as  might  appear,  and  if  shears  are 
used,  the  blood-vessels  are  pinched,  and  but  little  blood 
will  flow. 

The  layers  are  relied  upon  to  produce  the  princinal  part 
of  the  income,  and  as  they  are  chief  in  point  of  numbers, 
the  detached  stations  where  they  are  kept  form  the  main 
part  of  the  establishment,  to  wnich  the  breeding  and  sit- 
ting departments  are  merely  tributary.  Most  of  the  layers 
must  be  kept  only  until  the  age  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
months,  and  then  killed  for  sale,  and  their  places  supplied 
by  young  pullets.  This  course  is  necessary,  because  the 
yield  of  eggs  is  greatest  during  the  first  laying  season  if 
the  hens  are  of  an  early-maturing  breed,  and  are  fed  high, 
and  stimulated  to  the' utmost,  as  they  must  be,  to  secure 
the  highest  profit.  For  though  hens  are  still  vigorous  at 
two  years,  it  will  be  found  that  after  a  course  of  forcing 
to  their  greatest  capacity  through  the  first  season,  they 
can  not  generally  be  made  to  lay  profusely  during  the  sec- 
ond. If  we  chose  not  to  put  on  the  full  pressure  of  diet 
the  first  year,  but  to  feed  moderately  high  for  two  or 
three  years,  a  fair  yield  of  eggs  would  be  afforded  during 


FOWLS    FOR   LAYERS. 


i3 


44  AN   EGG   FARM. 

each.  But  such  a  course  would  not  pay  so  'well  as  to  keep 
pullets  only,  and  maintain  a  forcing  system  constantly 
from  the  time  they  commence  to  lay  until  they  stop,  and 
then  market  them  before  they  eat  up  the  profits  in  the 
idleness  of  fall  and  winter.  Pullets  grow  fast  during  the 
early  part  of  their  lives,  and  give  a  return  in  flesh  for  what 
they  eat  then.  After  they  commence  laying,  their  eggs 
are  prompt  dividends,  and,  besides,  their  bodies  increase 
in  weight  until  the  age  of  a  year  or  more.  Young  hens 
may  be  killed  a  fortnight  after  ceasing  to  lay,  and  if  thejl 
have  been  skillfully  fed,  their  flesh  will  prove  excellent 
for  the  table  as  compared  with  fowls  that  are  two  or  three 
years  old.  It  is  no  wonder  that  there  is  little  liking  for 
the  adult  fowls  the  markets  ordinarily  afford,  for  they 
comprise  many  that  are  very  old  and  unfit  for  food.  But 
regular  customers  will  soon  approve  fowls  a  year  old, 
which  have  been  supplied  with  the  cleanest  food,  and 
brought  to  just  the  proper  fatness,  and  delivered  freshly 
killed  and  neatly  dressed,  and  our  experience  proves  that 
the  families  upon  the  egg  route  will  order  all  that  the 
establishment  has  to  dispose  of.  The  high-pressure  mode 
of  feeding  and  turning  off  while  yet  young,  is  then  the 
true  policy.  The  point  is,  there  is  a  certain  consumption 
of  food  to  enable  any  animal  to  keep  alive.  The  ordinary 
vital  operations,  aside  from  laying  or  increase  of  size, 
demand  force,  obtained  through  food — which  is  money — 
and  we  should  aim  to  support  only  such  fowls  as  are  all 
the  while  giving  returns  in  either  growth  or  eggs.  The 
long  period  of  moulting  and  recovering  from  its  conse- 
quent exhaustion,  costs,  as  does  the  maintenance  of  the 
vital  fires  during  the  cold  of  winter.  It  is  a  matter  of 
quick  balancing  of  profits  and  expenses  with  animals, 
which,  like  fowls,  consume  the  value  of  their  bodies  in 
about  six  months.  If  it  is  urged  that  the  stimulating 
diet  and  unnatural  prolificness  will  subject  the  stock  to 
disease,  the  reply  is  that  the  regimen  is  not  continued 


FOWLS   FOE   LAYERS. 


45 


46 


AX   EGG    FARM. 


FOWLS    FOR    SITTERS.  47 

more  than  six  or  eight  months,  and  in  that  time  evil  ef- 
fects will  not  ordinarily  follow,  for  the  birds  are  allowed 
freedom,  sun.  And  air,  and  special  provision  is  made  for 
daily  exercise.  As  none  of  the  fowls  to  which  this  forc- 
ing system  is  applied,  leave  descendants,  no  evil  effects 
are  accuiAulated  and  entailed  upon  the  stock.  The  layers 
are  from  the  eggs  of  fowls  that  have  not  been  subjected 
to  any  such  pressure,  and  during  the  period  of  their  prin- 
cipal growth  they  have  been  given  a  nutritious  but  not 
especially  stimulating  food — like  a  colt  at  pasture.  When 
they  arrive  at  the  laying  age,  they  are  kept  like  the  horse 
—broken  to  work,  and  put  to  constant  and  severe  labor, 
and  fed  as  high  as  he  will  bear. 

FOWLS   FOR    SITTERS, 

The  sitters  are  of  a  breed  chosen  for  persistence  and 
regularity  in  incubation,  fidelity  to  their  chickens,  and 
gentleness  of  disposition.  The  Light  Brahmas  (fig.  18) 
are  our  resource,  and  can  not  be  excelled  for  hatching 
and  rearing.  Pure  bloods,  however,  are  not  used ;  but 
to,  give  less  awkwardness  and  greater  spread  of  wings, 
they  are  crossed  with  snow-white  barn-yard  fowls  (fig.  19). 
The  half-bloods  produced  are  represented  (fig.  20)  very 
accurately  by  the  artist.  They  resemble  the  Brahmas  the 
most  in  form  and  other  characteristics,  and  are  almost 
uniformly  docile.  The  half-blood  Brahmas  are  extremely 
valuable  for  hatching  and  taking  care  of  chickens.  The 
results  of  the  labors  of  poultry  fanciers  in  producing  two 
such  breeds  as  the  White  Leghorns  and  Light  Bralimn-* 
are  enough  to  compensate  for  all  the  humbug  practiced 
by  many  members  of  the  guild.  The  sitters  are  not  kept 
at  detached  stations  like  the  layers,  for  several  reasons. 
One  is,  they  should  all  be  near  together,  because  of  the 
great  amount  of  attendance  necessary  in  connection  with 
hatching,     Then  the  buildings  should  be  large  enough 


48 


AN    EGG    FARXr. 


FOWLS   FOR   SITTERS.  49 

for  the  keeper  to  enter,  in  order  to  take  care  of  the  nests 
and  chickens,  but  the  size  of  the  structure  and  the  risk 
of  jarring  eggs  will  prevent  moving.  Nor  can  the  system 
of  indirect  feeding  and  no  yards  be  pursued,  for  the  sit- 
ters should  be  fed  at  the  attendant's  feet,  and  tamed  so 
as  to  submit  quietly  to  the  handling  they  receive  while 
hatching  and  rearing.  Their  yards  are  sufficiently  large 
to  admit  of  exercise,  and  for  the  same  reason  their  dry 
grain  is  buried  in  the  ground  or  under  straw.  In  very 
cold  weather  they  are  confined  to  their  houses  for  warmth, 
and  are  given  a  stimulating  diet  to  promote  winter  laying, 
not  so  much  for  the  value  of  the  eggs  as  to  render  it  cer- 
tain that  there  shall  be  a  considerable  number  of  birds 
ready  to  sit  in  February,  and  many  more  in  March.  The 
fowls  chiefly  depended  upon  for  this,  consist  of  the  ear- 
liest pullets  of  the  previous  year,  and  also  the  old  hens 
that  have  been  employed  much  of  the  time  the  preceding 
summer  in  hatching  two  or  three  broods.  The  preven- 
tion of  laying  by  hatching  and  rearing,  causes  birds  thus 
occupied  to  lay  earlier  the  next  season.  By  a  little  man- 
agement there  is  no  difficulty  in  procuring  plenty  of 
offers  to  sit  from  February  to  June.  One  half  the  sitting 
stock  are  kept  until  two  ye^rs  old,  and  of  the  pullets  of 
the  sitting  class  raised  yearly,  some  are  hatched  in  Feb- 
ruary and  March,  and  some  in  the  first  week  in  Sep- 
tember, the  better  to  secure  sitting  at  vaiious  parts  of 
the  year.  Except  in  winter,  the  sitters  shoulc^  not  be  fed 
with  a  view  to  encourage  laying,  but  the  aim  should  be 
to  keep  them  on  as  moderate  an  allowance  as  possible, 
and  not  have  them  become  poor.  Their  specific  purpose 
is  incubation,  and  they  should  be  made  to  do  as  much  of 
this  as  possible.  By  uniting  broods,  when  a  hen  has 
hatched  one  nestful  of  eggs  she  may  be  given  another  im- 
mediately, and  if  managed  rightly  she  will  not  be  injured 
by  sitting  a  double  term.  Each  hen  must  hatch  two 
broods  per  year  at  least,  and  some  will  hatch  three.     In 


50 


AN   EGG    FARM. 


M 

£ 


MANAGEMENT   OF   BREEDING   STOCK.  51 

this  way  the  stock  of  500  sitters  will  produce  10,000 
chickens  yearly,  or  an  average  of  20  apiece. 

MANAGEMENT    OF    BREEDING    STOCK. 

The  proper  management  of  the  breeding  stock  is  a  very 
important  i3art  of  the  scheme,  for  there  must  annually 
be  raised  a  large  supply  of  pullets  of  the  right  quality. 
The  profits  of  the  establishment  depend  largely  on  the 
excellence  of  the  fowls,  and  as  they  can  be  multiplied 
very  fast  from  a  chosen  few,,  no  pains  should  be  spared 
to  secure  the  very  best  as  a  source  from  which  to  stock 
the  Avhole  farm.  There  is  but  one  way  to  do  this,  and 
that  is  to  keep  individual  birds  in  experimental  yards  in 
order  to  test  their  merits,  recording  the  degree  of  excel- 
lence and  the  pedigree  of  the  best  with  as  much  care  as 
would  be  given  to  breeding  cows  or  horses. 

We  will  suppose  it  is  designed  to  produce  a  strain  of 
Leghorns  that  shall  excel  in  prolificness,  laying  at  an 
early  age,  and  in  other  requisites.  Procure  a  pullet  from 
A  and  a  cockerel  from  B,  and  put  them  in  yard  No.  1 ; 
purchase  of  C  and  D  one  bird  from  each,  for  yard  No.  2, 
and  so  on,  always  taking-  care  that  no  specimens  are  ob- 
tained from  any  locality  where  disease  has  prevailed.  The 
smaller  breeding  yards  are  used  as  experimental  yards, 
and  to  allow  each  cock  a  proper  number  of  mates,  two  or 
more  half-blood  Brahma  pullets  (whose  eggs  can  be  dis- 
tinguished by  their  color)  are  added.  Give  each  Leghorn 
a  name  or  number,  and  enter  in  a  book  all  details  neces- 
sary for  testing  progress  in  improving  the  breed,  such  as 
weight,  the  age  at  which  laying  commenced,  and  the 
yield  of  eggs  during  the  first  year,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  banish  all  but  the  best  hens.  The  second  year  set 
the  eggs  of  the  reserved  extra  fowls,  and  keep  the  chickens 
produced  by  each  pair  separate  from  all  others.  At  the 
age  of  five  or  six  months,  cull  out  the  most  promising 
pullets  and  cockerels,  and  pair  them  for  testing  and  re- 


52  AN  KGG   FABM. 

cording  pedigree  and  prolificness  as  before.  By  mating 
the  produce  of  the  original  birds  from  A  and  B  with  the 
produce  of  those  from  C  and  D,  finally  the  four  stocks 
will  become  blended  in  one.  Proceed  in  this  manner  a 
number  of  years,  and  when  in  the  course  of  time  a  very 
extra  prolific  and  vigorous  hen  has  been  found,  which 
reached  full  size  and  commenced  laying  early,  and  whose 
ancestry  have  excelled  in  the  same  respects  for  several 
generations,  as  shown  by  the  book,  then  from  her  eggs 
cocks  are  raised  from  which  to  breed  to  replenish  the 
main  stock  of  layers  at  the  itinerant  stations.  These  cocks 
are  put  in  the  larger  breeding  yards,  each  with  a  flock  of 
ten  hens,  and  no  further  accounts  are  kept  of  the  pro- 
lificness of  individuals. 

After  new  stock  is  introduced  to  the  experimental 
yards,  as  must  be  done  yearly,  care  is  taken  for  a  series 
of  years  to  avoid  breeding  akin,  and  as  purchases  will  be 
made  from  fanciers,  who  to  fix  the  conventional  points 
have  most  likely  bred  close  and  impaired  strength,  cross- 
ing will  immediately  give  a  decided  increase  of  vigor. 
Towards  the  last,  however,  when  sufficient  stamina  has 
been  gained,  and  the  stations  are  to  be  stocked,  close 
breeding  is  resorted  to.  This  is  to  increase  the  yield  of 
eggs,  the  philosophy  of  the  matter  being  as  follows :  Just 
as  a  fruit  tree  girdled  or  severely  root-pruned  will  give  a 
profuse  yield  and  then  die,  and  as  various  domestic  ani- 
mals will  for  a  short  time  be  more  prolific  after  removal 
to  unaccustomed  climates,  so  the  violent  attack  on  vitality 
which  occurs  when  there  is  in-and-in  breeding,  is  met  by 
an  energetic  attempt  of  the  organism  to  propagate  in  un- 
usual numbers  and  thus  maintain  its  kind.  There  has 
been  much  confusion  on  this  point,  for  while  scientific 
naturalists  have  insisted  that  no  animal  can  thrive  under 
continued  close  breeding,  practical  poultry  keepers  have 
pointed  to  the  prolificness  of  in-and-in  bred  flows  as  a 
proof  that  there  was  no  deterioration.     The  fact  is,  indi- 


MANAGEMENT  OF  BREEDING  STOCK.         53 

vidual  perfection  and  rapid  increase  are  to  a  certain  de- 
gree incompatible.  Under  our  plan  of  aiming  chiefly  to 
secure  great  quantities  of  eggs,  we  purposely  give  the  con- 
stitution of  the  birds  a  shock  in  order  to  increase  fecun- 
dity, having  first,  however,  carefully  built  up,  for  some 
years,  by  careful  selection  and  good  sanitary  conditions, 
sufficient  strength  to  withstand  the  assault.  This  course 
may  appear  inconsistent,  but  experiments  have  shown  us 
that  it  is  correct. 

The  Brahmas  are  bred  in  the  experimental  yards  with 
a  different  basis  of  selection.  The  best  sitters,  and  those 
with  the  shortest  legs  and  the  least  black  upon  the  plu- 
mage, are  preferred.  Brahmas  can  be  bred  very  light- 
colored  in  a  short  time.  The  white  barn-yard  fowls  are 
selected  also  witli  reference  to  persistence  in  sitting,  and 
particularly  for  their  ample  wings.  The  experiments 
need  not  be  carried  out  to  such  an  extent  with  these  last- 
mentioned  breeds  as  in  case  of  the  Leghorns,  which  fill 
such  an  important  part. 

In  the  breeding  and  experimental  yards,  the  fowls  must 
be  fed  and  managed  in  every  respect  with  the  greatest 
care.  Over-fattening  is  to  be  deprecated  above  all  other 
things,  and  may  be  avoided  by  burj-ing  all  the  grain  to 
make  the  birds  exercise  by  scratching.  The  supply  of 
grain  should  be  moderate  ;  meat  should  be  given  very 
often  in  very  small  quantities,  and  the  allowance  of  fresh 
vegetables  should  be  ample.  Free  range  would  be  very 
desirable  for  all  the  breeders,  but  as  it  is  impracticable, 
scrupulous  care  must  be  taken  to  furnish  artificially  nat- 
ural conditions.  Though  the  birds  of  the  laying  class 
in  the  experimental  yards  are  rated  according  to  their 
prolificness,  yet  the  test  is  merely  a  relative  one,  for  they 
are  not  forced  to  profuse  laying  by  stimulating  feed. 


54 


AN  EGG  FARM. 


COOPS  FOR  CHICKENS. 

The  construction  of  the  coops  for  young  chickens  re- 
mains to  be  described.  A  chicken  coop  must  be  adapted 
to  warm  weather  and  cold,  and  especially  to  rains,  be  easily 
cleaned,  and  made  rat-proof  at  night.  The  old-fashioned 
triangular  pat- 
tern (fig.  21)  se- 
cures all  this,  and 
also  gives  small 
chickens  a  chance 
to  escape  under 
the  eaves  from 
the  feet  of  the 
hens.  Two  hens 
are  put  together 
with  their  broods, 
for  reasons  which 
will  be  given  in  another  place, 
commodate  a  double  brood  is 


21.— TRIAKGCLAB  COOP. 


The  size  proper  to  ac- 
2'|,x3'|,  feet  upon  the 
ground,  with  roof  3  feet  from  eaves  to  peak.  A  bit  of 
scantling  is  fastened  to  each  roof  for  a  handle.      The 

door,  a,  is  hinged  to  open 
upwards.  There  is  a  small 
door  at  the  rear  that  wdll 
allow  chickens  to  pass,  but 
not  grown  fowls.    An  open- 

,-_— .  _      ing  for  ventilation  is  made 

i]3"-'  ®I/lI      near  the  peak,  and  covered 

Fig.  22.-FLOOR  OF  COOP.  -^^-ith  wire  cloth.  Take 
inch  boards,  h,  h,  (fig.  22),  and  nail  strongly,  planed 
side  up,  to  the  cleats,  c,  c,  and  clinch.  Let  both  ends 
of  each  cleat  project  three  inches,  and  the  outside  edge 
of  each  two  inches.  This  is  the  movable  floor,  and 
must  be  of  such  size  that  the  coop  shall  rest  entirely  upon 
the  projecting  ends  and  edges  of  the  cleats,  then  when 


FEEDING   CHICKENS. 


55 


the  doors  are  closed,  all  rain  will  be  shed  outside  the  floor. 
In  figure  23,  a  section  of  the  coop  shows  the  floor  in  its 
place.  When  the  doors  are  closed  at  night,  leave  the 
large  one,  a,  ajar  '|„  inch  or  1  inch,  according  to  the 
weather,  for  air,  and  fasten  it 
with  wooden  pegs  stuck  in 
holes  through  the  cleats,  at  d,  d, 
which  will  make  the  coop  per- 
fectly rat-proof.  Once  a  week, 
after  opening  the  door  a,  to  en- 
able the  chickens  to  escape 
through  the  slats  out  of  the 
way,  slide  the  coop  slowly 
lengthwise  of  the  cleats  away 
from  the  floor,  which  must  be  scraped  thoroughly;  then 
give  it  a  shovelful  of  dry  earth  and  replace.  You  will  al- 
ways have  a  dry,  inodorous  apartment,  and  will  not  shut 
up  chickens  in  close,  foul  air. 


Fig.  23. — SECTION  OF  COOP. 


FEEDING   CHICKENS. 


All  the  chickens  destined  for  the  itinerant  stations, 
must,  as  mentioned  in  the  first  article,  be  fed  indirectly. 
For  two  days  only  are  they  and  the  hens  fed  upon  the 
floor  of  the  coop.     Then  for  a  week  they  are  fed  in  the 


Fig.  24.— FEEDING  BOX. 

box  given  in  figure  34.  It  has  no  bottom,  and  the  top, 
not  shown  in  the  figure,  is  temporary,  and  composed  of 
loose  boards.     Place  it  so  that  its  door  shall  meet  the 


66 


AN   EGG   FABM. 


small  door  in  the  coop,  having  first  dropped  in  the  feed 
at  the  comer  e,  and  covered  the  box  with  the  hoards  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  admit  a  little  light.  After  a  week, 
the  chickens,  being  strong  enough  to  venture  some  dis- 


Fig.  25. — FEED-BOX  WITH  GRATING. 

tance,  are  fed  from  a  box  of  tin,  6  x  16  inches  and  ^  |^  inch 
deep  (fig.  25).  A  wire  grating,  F,  with  meshes  1  inch 
square,  protects  the  feed  from  the  feet  of  the  chickens, 
but  admits  their  bills.  The  grating  is  covered  at  pleasure 
by  a  lid,  G,  both  being  hinged  to  opposite  sides  of  the 
box.  When  such- boxes  are  placed  in  a  row  (fig.  26),  each 
filled  with  feed,  one  for  each  coop,  with  the  lids  down,  a 
snap-hook  is  attached  to  a  ring  which  is  fastened  to  each 


Fig.  26.— ARR.iJNGEMENT  FOB  OPENING  FEED-BOXES. 

lid,  and  a  wire  connects  with  all  the  hooks  as  in  figure  26. 
One  pull  opens  all  the  lids  and  the  chickens  are  at  dinner. 
These  feed-boxes  are  carried  to  the  granary  to  be  filled, 
using  a  wheelbarrow  in  which  many  may  be  packed  at  a 


SETTING  THE   EGGS.  57 

time.  The  coops  are  20  feet  apart,  in  a  single  row,  and 
the  wheelbarrow  is  rolled  along  the  line,  and  the  boxes, 
with  lids  closed,  are  put  on  the  side  of  the  coops  near  the 
small  doors,  which  are  shut,  in  order  that  the  hens  may 
not  worry  when  the  chickens  are  feeding.  The  hens  are 
fed  and  watered  in  cups,  fastened  to  the  inside  of  the 
coops  as  high  as  they  can  reach.  The  cups  are  filled  once 
each  twenty-four  hours,  after  dark  in  the  evening,  so  as 
not  to  attract  the  attention  of  either  hens  or  chickens. 
When  the  chickens  are  a  month  old,  a  part  of  their  feed 
should  be  buried  near  the  coop  early  in  the  morning,  be- 
fore they  are  let  out,  so  that  they  may  scratch  during  the 
day.  Whenever  it  is  rainy,  the  box  used  the  first  week 
for  feeding  (fig.  24),  is  resorted  to  again  for  that  purpose. 

The  additional  time  required  to  feed  chickens  indirectly 
is  slight,  if  operations  are  systematized.  All  the  chickens 
of  the  experimental  stock,  and  of  the  Brahma,  and  White 
Barn-yard,  and  Half-blood  classes  also,  are  reared  at  a 
separate  part  of  the  farm,  and  fed  directly. 

When  the  hens  are  removed  from  the  chickens,  the 
latter  huddle  together  nights  upon  the  floor  for  some 
weeks,  but  when  old  enough  to  perch,  the  box  (fig.  24), 
is  placed  upon  the  movable  coop-floor,  and  the  coop  is 
placed  upon  the  top  of  the  whole,  the  box  being  of  such 
size  that  the  eaves  and  sides  of  the  coop  overlap  sufiicient- 
ly  to  shed  rain.  The  box  has  two  perches  permanently 
fastened  to  it,  one  of  which  is  seen  in  figure  24.  This 
roost  is  rat-proof,  and  a  bushel  or  so  of  dry  earth  keeps 
it  clean. 

SETTING   THE   EGGS. 

Vigor  and  thrift  in  chickens  depend,  in  the  first  place, 
upon  the  quality  of  the  eggs  set.  Those  obtained  from 
breeding  stock  managed  as  described  in  the  preceding  ar- 
ticle, Avill  hatch  strong  and  healthy  chickens  ;  observing 
one  precaution.     Care  should  be  taken  never  to  set  eggs 


58  AN    EGG    FARM. 

laid  near  the  close  of  the  season,  when  the  hens  have  been 
very  prolific,  for  such  will  produce  chickens  deficient  in 
vigor.  The  production  of  eggs  in  great  numbers  is,  in 
the  best  laying  breeds,  abnormal.  The  wild  jungle  fowl, 
in  common  with  all  birds  in  a  state  of  nature,  lays  no 
more  than  she  can  cover,  and  this  is  true  of  domestic 
hens  of  sitting  breeds,  that  steal  their  nests.  It  is  the 
daily  removal  of  the  eggs  by  the  keeper,  and  the  supply 
of  an  abundance  of  nutritious  food,  that  causes  great  pro- 
lificness.  There  are  some  species  of  wild  birds  that  will 
produce  from  three  to  ten  times  their  usual  number  of 
eggs,  during  a  season  when  their  food  is  abundant,  if 
their  nests  are  continually  robbed.  But  when  hens  lay 
twenty  or  more  per  month,  for  several  months,  the  eggs 
are  impaired.  This  is  one  reason  why  chickens  hatched 
in  summer  are  sometimes  so  deficient  in  vigor,  compared 
with  those  produced  in  early  spring.  For  the  sake  of 
economy  it  is  important  to  have  as  few  non-impregnated 
eggs  as  possible.  Over  ninety  per  cent  will  be  impregnti.t- 
ed  if  the  breeding  cocks  are  strong  and  sprightly,  and  no 
more  than  ten  hens  are  allowed  in  a  flock.  It  is  a  good 
plan  to  keep  two  cocks  for  each  group  of  breeding  hens, 
and  shut  them  up,  alternately,  one  day  at  a  time,  in  a 
small  but  comfortable  coop,  entirely  out  of  sight  of  the 
hens.  The  eggs  should  not  be  kept  more  than  a  week  or 
a  fortnight  before  being  set.  Those  laid  the  same  day 
should  be  given  to  one  hen,  so  that  the  whole  brood  may 
hatch  simultaneously,  for  new-laid  eggs  hatch  several 
hours  sooner  than  those  that  have  been  laid  a  considerable 
time  before  being  set. 

Artificial  hatching  and  rearing  are  not  economical. 
Even  if  incubators  should  become  so  perfected  as  to  be 
capable  of  hatching  as  great  a  proportion  of  eggs  as  hens, 
there  is  no  way  of  rearing  the  chickens  artificially,  and 
securing  ventilation,  warmth,  cleanliness,  and  room  for 
exercise,  without  greater  outlay  in  labor  and  building 


SETTING   THE    EGGS.  59 

materials  than  is  necessary  when  hens  are  employed. 
Young  chickens  can  not  be  kept  warm  enough,  during 
cool  nights,  under  an  artificial  mother,  by  their  own  heat, 
unless  they  are  in  a  small  apartment,  kept  so  close  as  to 
produce  very  foul  air.  If  good  ventilation  is  attempted, 
there  must  be  artificial  heat  supplied,  and  this  needs  an 
apparatus  very  nicely  regulated,  or  the  chickens  will  suffer 
from  extremes  of  temperature.  The  cost  of  fixtures  for 
heating,  and  of  fuel,  and  of  separate  inclosures  large 
enough  for  each  brood  to  exercise  in,  would  be  great, 
and,  what  is  of  more  consequence,  the  amount  of  attend- 
ance involved  would  make  the  plan  entirely  impracticable, 
except  in  case  of  high  prices  for  early  chickens  or  blooded 
fowls. 

The  nests  of  sitters  should  be  made  at  bottom  of  damp 
earth,  packed  to  a  concave  shape.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
place  them  upon  the  ground,  or  to  sprinkle  the  eggs  with 
water,  if  this  rule  is  followed.  It  is  proper  that  the  eggs 
should  be  in  some  way  exposed  to  moderate  dampness 
during  incubation,  as  otherwise  too  much  of  the  water  in 
their  composition  evaporates.  An  elevated  box  furnished 
with  nothing  but  dry  litter  is  not  suitable.  Cover  the 
earth  with  straw,  bruised  until  pliable,  and  broken  short. 
Long  straw  is  apt  to  become  entangled  with  the  feet  of 
the  hen,  causing  breakage  of  eggs.  It  should  not,  how- 
ever, be  cut  by  a  machine,  because  the  sharp  ends  of  the 
pieces  will  come  in  contact  with  the  skin  of  the^  hen,  or 
that  of  the  delicate  chickens.  In  very  cold  weather  line 
the  nest  with  feathers.  We  have  successfully  hatched 
eggs  by  preparing  a  nest  thus,  in  a  room  where  during 
part  of  the  time  of  incubation  the  temperature  was  below 
zero.  Set  hens  in  large  numbers  at  a  time,  having  kept 
some  of  them  upon  artificial  eggs  until  all  are  ready.  Of 
course,  an  entry  must  be  made  in  a  book  of  the  family  or 
strain,  and  other  particulars  of  each  clutch. 


60  AN   EGG   FARM. 

MANAGEMENT   OF    SITTING   FOWLS. 

There  are  various  methods  of  managing  fowls  while 
sitting,  of  which  one  of  those  securing  a  separate  room 
for  each  will  answer  for  a  small  establishment,  but  keep- 
ing them  with  the  rest  of  the  flock  in  a  house  such  as  is 
described  under  ''Houses  for  Sitters,"  takes  the  least  time 
of  any,  when  great  numbers  are  to  be  set,  allowing  an 
attendant  to  exercise  oversight  systematically  and  punc- 
tually. If  it  is  attempted  to  keep  each  sitter  in  a  large 
separate  room,  much  outlay  is  necessary,  while  again,  if 
small  rooms  are  used,  the  hens  are  not  easily  made  to 
take  exercise,  without  which  they  will  not  thrive,  espe- 
cially if  they  sit  a  double  term.  Another  objection  to 
separate  rooms  is,  that  if  feed  is  placed  so  that  the  hen 
can  leave  her  nest  to  eafc  at  pleasure,  rats  are  baited  to 
the  spot,  or  if  each  room  is  made  rat-proof,  it  will  be  too 
expensive.  To  feed  and  water  individual  birds  in  separate 
apartments  takes  much  time,  and  if  several  are  placed  in 
one  room,  they  must  be  looked  to,  or  two  will  take  to  the 
same  nest.  But  if  surveillance  is  attempted,  it  will  be 
handier  to  carry  it  out  by  placing  many  in  a  large  room. 

The  nests  are  guarded  against  the  depredations  of  rats 
by  the  fine  wire  netting  as  already  described.  The  use 
of  the  coarse  netting  that  alternates  with  the  fine,  is  as 
follows  :  Half  the  labor  of  managing  chickens  is  saved, 
by  confining  in  the  same  coop  two  hens  Avith  their  broods. 
They  will  agree  perfectly,  if  well  acquainted  beforehand. 
We  take  a  hint  from  nature  here  ;  such  wild  birds  as  live 
chiefly  on  the  ground,  sometimes  incubate  and  lead  their 
broods  in  company.  While  sitting,  adjoining  hens  form 
a  particular  acquaintance  through  the  coarse  meshes  of 
the  netting,  and  at  the  same  time  they  can  not  interfere 
with  each  other,  or  roll  the  eggs  from  one  nest  to  an- 
other. 

Without  a  special  system  of  management,  a  consider- 


MANAGEMENT    OP    SITTING    FOWLS. 


61 


able  number  of  sitting  hens  can  not  incubate  and  feed  in 
the  same  apartment  without  confusion,  but  by  the  fol- 
lowing plan  each  is  made  to  know  her  own  nest  and  re- 
turn to  it  after  feeding.  In  the  first  place,  the  laying 
hens,  before  offering  to  sit,  are  induced  to  choose  nests 
scattered  evenly  through  the  whole  building,  by  properly 
distributing  nest  eggs  and  keeping  half  of  the  nests  clos- 
ed. The  nests  on  'both  sides  of  the  house  are  divided 
vertically  into  three  sections,  one  at  each  end  of  the  room, 
and  one  at  the  center,  by  painting  each  division  a  special 
color — the  center  black,  and  the  ends  respectively  red 
and  blue.  The  contrast  assists  the  fowls  very  much  in 
determining  their  places.  No  more  than  three  pairs  of 
sitters  should  be  allowed  to  each  ■  division,  or  eighteen 
clutches  on  each  side  of  the  building.  The  six  birds  be- 
longing in  the  middle  division  remember  their  places  very 


Fig.  27. — MANNER  OP  NrMBERTNG  NESTS  FOB  SITTERS. 


readily,  because  they  are  so  far  from  either  end.  To 
prevent  those  at  the  ends  from  making  mistakes,  as  soon 
as  the  laying  season  commences,  one  end  Avail  of  the 
room  is  covered  with  straw,  or  evergreen  boughs,  and  the 
other  left  bare.  All  birds,  wild  or  domesticated,  possess 
a  keen  sense  of  locality,  and  a  few  neighboring  objects 
enable  them  to  recognize  their  nests.  The  nests  that  are 
used  for  hatching  are  numbered  by  affixing  movable  la- 
bels, and  every  sitter  is  distinguished  by  having  a  feather 
or  two  painted,  the  color  showing  her  division,  and  the 


C2  AN   KGG   FARM. 

position  of  the  mark,  upon  her  head,  or  body,  or  tail, 
signifying  a  number  corresponding  to  that  of  her  nest. 
This  enables  the  attendant  to  correct  mistakes  by  the 
birds  (which  will,  however,  be  rare)  before  fastening  them 
in  daily.  The  colors  show  distinctly  upon  the  white 
ground  of  the  feathers.  This  plan  appears  somewhat 
whimsical,  but  it  is  simple  and  convenient,  i'igure  27 
sliows  the  numbers  on  a  side  of  the  room,  arranged  as  if 
for  eighteen  clutches,  the  nests  not  numbered  being  for 
the  use  of  laying  fowls  in  the  mean  time.  The  shading 
represents  the  three  different  colors  of  the  divisions.  Tlie 
sitters  are  assigned  places  two  by  two  as  above  stated,  and 
each  of  a  pair  of  nests  and  each  of  the  occupants  receives 
the  same  number.  Only  three  numerals  are  necessary  fo 
designate  three  dozen  nests  in  all,  in  one  house.  The  in- 
cubating hens  should  be  fed  early  in  the  morning,  before 
any  of  the  others  are  ready  to  lay.  Those  not  sitting  are 
shut  into  the  yard  ;  the  large  doors  of  coarse  wire-work 
that  prevent  hens  from  roosting  on  the  alighting  boards 
at  night,  are  raised  (at  one  side  of  the  room  only)  and 
the  pieces  of  wire-cloth  before  the  separate  entrances  to 
the  nests  of  the  sitting  hens  are  removed  and  placed  in 
front  of  the  nests  frequented  by  the  layers.  Next,  grain 
is  thrown  upon  the  ground  m  view  of  all  the  sitters  on 
that  side  of  the  room,  when  a  call  to  which  they  are  ac- 
customed will  cause  them  to  leave  their  nests,  after  which 
the  large  doors  are  lowered  and  the  hens  are  left  from  '  |^ 
to'l^  of  an  hour,  according  to  the  weather,  while  the 
poulterer  is  repeating  the  operation  at  the  other  build- 
ings. When  the  hens  are  off,  inspect  every  nest  to  detect 
broken  eggs  or  anything  else  amiss.  The  sitters  upon 
one  side  are  ail  admitted  to  their  nests  at  onee,  by  raising 
the  large  wire  doors,  and  then  shut  in  safe  from  rats  or 
the  intrusions  of  laying  hens,  by  the  separate  pieces  of 
wire-cloth.  Eepeat  tbe  operation  at  the  nests  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  house. 


TESTING   TEE    EOGS. 


63 


TESTING    THE    EGGS. 

Examine  the  eggs  after  the  hen  has  been  upon  them 
ten  days  by  the  well-known  method  of  placing  them  be- 
tween the  hands  and  attempting  to  look  through  them  at 
a  strong  light ;  or  a  better  way  is  to  use  an  "  egg-tester.'* 
The  tester  represented  in  figure  28  is  a  very  simple  one, 
which  we  have  used  v/ith  satisfaction.  It  consists  of  a 
tin  cup,  3  inches 
high  and  2'  \^  inch- 
es in  diameter,  nar- 
rowed at  the  top, 
leaving  a  round 
opening  large 
enough  to  partly 
admit  an  egg  end- 
wise. An  oval  mir- 
ror is  fastened  in  a 
slanting  position 
across  the  cup,  by 
projections  of  tin 
or  solder.  The  eye 
is  placed  opposite 
an  opening,  *|  ^  inch 
in  diameter,  and  1 
inch  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  cup,  the 
opening  being  fur- 
nished with  an 
eye-piece.  Enough 
light  will  be  transmitted 


Fig.  28. — EGG   TESTER. 


form  a 
Eetum 


through  the  Qgg  to 
distinct  image  of  the  yolk  upon  the  mirror, 
to  the  hen  only  those  eggs  that  appear  opaque  or 
clouded  :  those  which  show  clear,  orange-colored  yolks, 
being  unimpregnated,  will  not  hatch,  and  may  be  used  as 
feed  for  chickens. 

When  hatching  is  progressing,  remove  gently  once  or 


64  AN  BGG  PABM. 

twice  the  empty  shells  that  might  otherTvise  overcap  the 
unhatched  eggs,  but  further  than  this  do  not  interfere, 
as  a  chicken  worth  hatching  Avill  contrive  to  get  itself 
hatched.  Let  the  chicks  remain  in  the  nest  48  hours 
without  being  fed,  allowing  the  hen  meanwhile  water, 
and  a  handful  of  dry  grain,  placed  in  dishes  by  the  nest. 
When  removed  to  the  coops,  put  in  each  double  brood 
thirty  chickens — less  if  it  is  cold  Aveather. 

WINTER   MANAGEMENT. 

Quarters  for  the  laying  stock  during  cold  weather  are 
shown  in  figure  29.  When  the  house  is  located  for  win- 
ter, the  doors  in  the  north  roof  are  covered  with  building 
paper  in  overlapping  sheets  tacked  on  slightly  so  that  it 
may  be  removed  in  spring.  Straw  is  laid  over  the  paper 
to  the  depth  of  a  foot.  A  temporary  shed  is  made  for  a 
rod  east,  and  the  same  distance  west  of  the  building, 
connecting  with  the  roof  of  the  latter,  the  platforms  for 
drying  earth  (figured  on  page  23),  being  used  for  this 
purpose  and  supported  by  stout  rails.  By  turning  a  cor- 
ner, as  at  the  post  A,  east  and  also  west  of  the  building, 
this  shed  is  made  to  inclose  three  sides  of  a  court  which 
is  open  to  the  south.  The  gaps  in  the  roof  of  the  shed 
at  the  corners,  and  the  cracks  between  the  platforms,  are 
covered  with  straw  and  boards.  There  is  nothing  that 
fowls  love  better  than  convenient  nooks  wiiere  they  can 
retreat  from  the  crowd  of  their  fellows,  and  select  their 
ow^n  company.  Confinement  brings  not  only  loss  of 
health,  but  the  vices  of  feather-eating  and  egg-eating. 
No  system  of  diet  will  remove  the  liability  of  fowls  that 
are  habitually  kept  in-doors  to  learn  to  pluck  each  other. 
If  the  room  is  large  and  the  flock  small,  there  may  be  no 
risk  of  this,  but  the  "expense  of  such  quarters  would  be 
fatal  to  success.  When  fowls  are  allowed  freedom  they 
never  learn  to  eat  feathers.  If  anybody  wants  to  keep 
poultry  under  some  highly  artificial  plan,  and  prevent 


WINTEU   MANAGEMENT. 


65 


out-door  range  in  winter  in  order  to  promote  laying,  he 
is  welcome  to  do  so.  But  nature  if  thwarted  is  sure  to 
have  her  revenge,  if  not  in  one  way,  then  in  another. 


Whether  in-doors  or  out,  the  birds  must  be  busily  em« 
ployed  every  day,  and  then  they  will  be  happy  and  con- 
tented, and  not  learn  egg-eating  or  other  abnormal  prac- 


66  AN   EGG   FARM. 

tices.  Without  a  chance  to  scratch  in  earth  or  straw, 
they  will  be  as  badly  off  as  a  rich  man  with  nothing  to 
do.  Straw  is  scattered  under  the  sheds,  and  on  pleasant 
days  a  few  handfuls  of  feed  are  buried  under  it,  using  a 
fork.  When  the  weather  admits,  a  large  pile  is  used  for 
a  scratching-place,  situated  south  of  the  feed-room, 
where  it  can  be  moved  by  the  aid  of  a  team,  as  stated  on 
a  previous  page.  The  arrangements  for  barying  grain 
in-doors  have  also  been  already  described.  The  ground 
is  raised  a  few  inches  by  plowing  in  the  fall,  where  the 
sheds  are  to  be  placed. 

When  the  house  is  placed  upon  the  dust-bin,  B,  waste 
strips  of  cloth,  called  "  headings,"  obtained  at  the  woolen 
factories,  are  used  to  make  the  joints  air-tight  between 
the  two.  The  passage  leading  to  the  feed-room  is  rej^re- 
sented  at  C.  The  feed-room  itself  is  not  shown  in  the 
illustration,  but  is  given  in  figure  8.  A  small  opening, 
D,  at  each  end  of  the  house  is  for  ventilation,  and 
must  never  be  closed.  A  projecting  cap  over  it  keeps 
out  rain,  and  wire-cloth  of  '|  ^-inch  mesh  breaks  the  force 
of  entering  air  in  case  of  high  winds,  though  ordinarily 
the  current  will  be  outward.  Fresh  air  is  admitted 
through  the  passage  C,  and  as  it  must  enter  the  feed- 
room  through  an  outside  door  in  the  latter,  and  pass  sev- 
eral angles  before  gaining  admission  to  the  roosting  room, 
strong  draughts  will  be  avoided.  Care  must  be  taken 
during  cold  spells  to  partially  close  this  door  at  night, 
so  as  to  raise  the  temperature  at  the  roost  about  20  de-= 
grees  higher  than  it  is  outside,  but  further  than  this  no 
effort  should  be  made  to  retain  heat  at  tlie  risk  of  impure 
air.  Fowls  that  have  free  range  in  the  daytime  the  year 
round,  and  roost  in  buildings  open  on  all  sides  in  sum- 
mer, and  partiall}^  open  in  spring  and  fall,  will  not  be 
injured  by  an  attempt  to  strike  a  balance  between  warmth 
and  ventilation  during  a  few  brief  periods  of  extreme  cold. 


HOUSE  FOR  EARLY  HATCHED  PULLETS.        67 
HOUSE  FOR  EARLY  HATCHED  PULLETS. 

Figure  30  represents  a  house  for  the  earliest  hatched 
pullets  that  are  expected  to  lay  more  in  winter  than  the 
others,  and  are,  therefore,  sheltered  at  greater  expense. 
AVinter  laying  depends  more  on  breed,  age,  feeding,  and 
health,  than  upon  warm  rooms.  Heat  is  necessary  to 
productiveness,  but  a  fowl  kept  in  full  vigor  and  good 
appetite  by  exercise,  will  be  warm  where  a  dull,  mopish 


Fig.  30. — ^HOUSE  FOR  EARLY  HATCHED  PULLETS. 


one  would  shiver.  It  will  not  pay  to  build  expensive 
fowl-houses,  and  the  arrangement  we  are  about  to  de- 
scribe involves  as  much  outlay  as  is  advisable,  in  order  to . 
secure  warmth,  excepting  for  some  special  purposes.  A 
mound  of  earth,  nearly  circular,  and  25  feet  broad  at  the 
narrowest  point,  is  raised  by  scraping  with  the  team.  It 
should  be  3'|,  feet  high  at  the  center,  and  slope  gradu- 
ally to  a  level  Avith  the  surface  of  the  field.  Upon  this 
mound  a  cellar  is  dug  7'|,  feet  by  14'|„  and  3  feet  deep, 
the  bottom  being  6  inches  higher  than  the  average  of  the 
surface  beyond  the  mound.  The  cellar  is  walled  sub- 
stantially with  stone,  laid  in  cement,  and  floored^  with  the 


68  AN    EGG    FARM. 

latter  material.  Stations  furnished  with  such  cellars  are 
upon  a  part  of  the  farm  where  there  is  a  gentle  slope, 
and,  wherever  necessary,  a  tile  drain  is  put  under  the 
foundation  of  the  walls.  The  floor  of  an  underground 
fowl-house  must  always  be  a  little  higher  than  the  ad- 
joining field,  not  on  account  of  drainage  alone,  but  for 
ventilation.  No  room  is  fit  to  be  occupied  by  stock  that 
cannot  be  ventilated  at  bottom.  In  this  cellar  the  walled 
passage  at  A  admits  air  within  8  inches  of  the  floor, 
which  is  covered  with  dry  earth  to  that  depth.  The 
walls  are  topped  with  plank-sills,  upon  ttie  outer  edges 
of  which  the  runners  of  the  itinerant  building  rest, 
caulking  being  resorted  to  as  in  the  previous  case.  It 
will  not  answer  to  house  fowls  in  such  a  place  unless 
there  is  plenty  of  glass  above,  and  the  south  roof,  there- 
fore, contains  five  long  windows,  instead  of  tAvo  short  ones, 
as  in  the  other  cases,  each  door  being  furnished  with  one. 
There  is  a  shutter,  B,  to  correspond  with  each  window. 
Otherwise  the  house  is  of  the  usual  pattern,  and  the  win- 
ter sheds  and  feed-room  are  attached  to  it,  though  omit- 
ted in  the  figure  so  as  to  show  the  embankment  plainer. 
The  house  and  mound  have  a  bleak  look  in  the  illustra- 
tion, but  the  sheds  will  make  the  whole  sheltered  and 
cosy.  The  usual  boarded  passage  (not  shown  in  the  cut), 
connects  the  feed-room  with  the  tunnel  at  A.  There  are 
sunny  days  enough  in  winter  to  keep  the  earth-bed  inside 
perfectly  dry,  and  the  air  will  be  no  damper  than  in  an 
unglazed  apartment  entirely  above  ground.  Straw  mats 
of  the  greenhouse  pattern  are  used  at  night  upon  the 
north  roofs  of  all  the  buildings  for  about  two  months  in 
winter.  The  amount  of  solar  heat  accumulated  during 
a  clear  winter's  day  in  a  pit  roofed  with  glass  is  surpris- 
ing, and  this  is  to  be  retained  as  long  as  possible,  always 
remembering,  however,  to  give  ventilation  its  due.  Sum- 
mer and  winter  the  admission  of  air  must  be  gauged  by 
every  change  of  wind  and  weather.     It  is  one  of  the  ad- 


SHELTERS    FOR    FOWLS    AND    CHICKENS. 


69 


vantages  of  business  upon  a  large  scale,  that  operations 
which  it  would  not  pay  to  attend  to  with  one  flock,  may 
be  afforded  where  there  are  many. 

The  buildings  are  kept  over  the  cellars  only  in  winter, 
and  are  drawn  on  and  off  the  sills  above  the  walls  by  the 
use  of  small  rollers,  and  a  horse  attached  to  tackle.  The 
cellars  must  not  lie  idle  after  the  houses  are  moved,  but 
be  roofed  with  the  platforms  for  drying  earth,  and  a  few 
movable  greenhouse  sashes,  and  used  as  a  shelter  for 
chickens. 

SHELTERS    FOR   FOWLS   AND   CHICKENS. 

The  stations  when  arranged  for  winter  should  preserve 


WW&^ 


Fig.  31. — SHELTER  FOR  CHICKENS. 


the  dissimilar  appearance  mentioned  in  the  first  article, 
so  that  the  fowls  may  be  able  to  distinguish  their  own 


ro 


AN   EGG    FARM. 


houses.  Each  building  being  colored  in  summer  unlike 
those  immediately  adjoining  it,  the  plan  is  earned  out  in 
winter  by  coloring  the  sheds  attached  to  each  house  like 
itself.  By  using  a  very  wide  brush,  the  lime-wash,  or 
coal-tar,  is  applied  in  a  short  time. 

In  addition  to  the  sheds  above  described,  other  protec- 
tion against  the  weather  in  winter  is  provided  by  adjust- 


Fig.  32. — TEMPORAKT  SHELTERS. 

ing  some  of  the  earth  platforms  as  seen  at  A,  (fig.  31), 
and  the  basement  part  of  the  chicken-coops  are  propped 
up,  B,  and  covered  with  boards,  and  the  floors  to  t!ie 
same  are  arranged  as  at  C,  (fig.  32).  In  the  same  cut,  D 
represents  a  sliade  for  chickens  in  summer,  made  of  tlie 
rails  used  in  winter  for  the  sheds,  covered  by  straw  from 
the  north  roof  of  the  layers'  houses,  with  brush  or  corn- 


THE   KINDS    OP   FOOD.  71 

stalks  added  to  keep  the  wind  from  blowing  it  away. 
Shade  for  the  laying  stock  is  provided  by  taking  the 
winter  diist-bins  and  propping  them  in  a  slanting  posi- 
tion {E,  fig.  31),  and  nailing  slightly  a  few  boards  across, 
and  thatching  with  the  mats  used  in  winter  upon  the 
houses.  This  contrivance  is  drawn  upon  the  ground,  by 
the  team,  occasionally,  so  as  to  never  be  very  far  from 
the  building  when  the  latter  is  shifted,  and  some  of  the 
platforms  are  moved  about  for  the  same  purpose  when 
not  employed  in  the  dry-earth  harvest.  By  using  earth 
platforms  at  one  station,  straw -mat  screens  at  another, 
and  movable  booths  of  evergreen  boughs  at  a  third,  neigh- 
boring premises  are  made  to  look  unlike.  In  this  way  all 
the  various  fixtures  in  the  whole  establishment  are  kept 
in  use  summer  and  winter,  and  chickens  and  grown  fowls 
are  sheltered  from  sun,  wind,  and  rain  under  structures 
that  afford  a  great  deal  of  ground  room,  which  is  what 
counts,  yet  they  are  low  like  the  houses,  and,  therefore, 
made  with  but  little  lumber. 

THE    KINDS   OF   FOOD. 

When  poultry  are  kept  upon  a  large  scale,  they  can  ob- 
tain but  few  insects,  for  the  latter  are  attracted  and  sup- 
ported by  vegetation,  of  which  there  is  next  to  none  near 
the  adult  fowls,  though  care»is  taken  to  rear  a  part  of  the 
chickens  among  growing  crops.  The  ample  grounds 
around  each  station  house,  and  the  areas  enclosed  by  the 
yards  for  sitters  and  for  breeders,  give  space  to  secure 
cleanliness  and  exercise,  but  that  is  all.  As  far  as  afford- 
ing insect-foraging  is  concerned,  a  paved  court  in  a  city, 
or  a  continuous  rock,  would  be  about  as  good.  Ground 
room  out  of  doors,  upon  our  farm,  whether  inclosed  in 
yards  or  not,  is  solely  for  air,  sun,  and  exercise.  These 
secured,  it  matters  not  whether  there  is  more  or  less  space, 
so  long  as  there  are  no  insects  to  be  procured.  We  hear 
much  about  the  number  of  fowls  proper  to  an  acre  of 


72  AN   EGG   FARM. 

ground  ;  some  say  50,  and  others  100  ;  but  in  order  to 
give  100  a  good  forage,  they  should  have  the  range  of  no 
less  than  4  or  5  acres,  containing  grass  and  a  variety  of 
other  crops.  Now,  if  we  give  up  as  impracticable,  as  we 
must,  pasturage  of  this  sort,  and  afford  nothing  but  a 
field  entirely  bald,  save  for  a  few  patches  of  clover  and 
such  other  vegetables  as  may  be  plucked  when  young  and 
tender  by  the  birds,  under  such  circumstances  one  acre 
is  as  good  as  four.  We  go  further,  and  say  that  15  or  20 
rods  of  ground,  and  the  grain  for  the  fowls  buried  to  in- 
duce exercise,  will  ansAver  the  purpose  better  than  an  acre 
without  such  an  artificial  provision  of  natural  conditions. 
But  the  feed,  which  must  be  all  brought  to  the  fowls, 
costs  in  money  if  purchased,  or  in  labor  if  raised  upon  the 
cultivated  part  of  the  farm.  In  fowl-keeping  upon  a 
small  scale,  where  one  flock  has  for  a  range  as  large  a 
portion  of  a  farm  swarming  with  insects  as  they  choose  to 
travel  over,  food  is  obtained  for  nothing.  The  food  for 
fowls  is  more  expensive  than  that  of  any  other  live  stock 
in  proportion  to  the  value  of  the  animals  themselves,  ne- 
cessitating economy  in  its  choice.  There  are  many  tilings 
"good  for"  fowls,  but  we  must  use  principally  those  only 
which  supply  all  the  needful  nutritive  elements,  and  are 
at  the  same  time  the  cheapest. 

There  are  three  classes  of  articles  in  which  the  natural 
and  indispensable  diet  of  fowls  consists  ;  grains  or  seeds, 
green  plants,  and  insects.  Corn  and  wheat-shorts  should 
be  the  main  reliance  to  fill  the  first  division  ;  boiled  pota- 
toes and  raw  cabbage  in  winter,  and  newly-mown  grass 
in  summer,  are  the  most  suitable  vegetables,  and  chand- 
lers' scraps  and  butchers'  waste,  procured  fresh,  are  the 
most  economical  animal  food,  excepting  near  the  coast, 
where  clams  and  various  sorts  of  fish  can  be  obtained  at 
a  trifling  cost.  While  depending  mostly  upon  the  above, 
because  they  are  the  best  and  cheapest,  a  great  many 
other  things  must  be  given  occasionally  for  the  sake  of 


BUILDING    FOU    STORING    AND   COOKING   FOOD.  73 

Variety,  such  as  oats  and  buckwheat,  both  ground ;  rye, 
barley,  wheat,  brewers'  grains ;  various  vegetables,  such 
as  carrots,  beets,  and  yellow  turnips,  boiled  and  thickened 
with  corn-meal  or  wheat-bran  ;  raw  onions  chopped  fine  ; 
and  for  animal  food,  sometimes  young  calves  may  be  ob- 
tained from  milkmen  at  a  low  price,  and  the  carcasses 
boiled  and  fed.  It  must  be  an  invariable  rule  to  give 
every  bird,  whether  young  chicken,  layer,  sitter,  or  fat- 
tening for  the  table,  a  portion  in  each  of  the  three  divi- 
sions— grain,  fresh  vegetable,  and  animal  food — every  day 
in  the  year.  It  has  been  asserted  by  some  that  there  is 
no  substitute  that  can  fill  the  place  of  insects  for  poultry. 
We  say  that  beef  and  mutton  are  as  much  better,  as  oats 
are  better  than  grass  for  horses,  of  which  much  w^ork  is 
demanded.  A  partridge  or  wild  jungle  fowl  can  produce 
her  normal  number  of  eggs  from  forest  fare,  but  not  such 
quantities  as  are  laid  by  a  White  Leghorn  or  Houdan. 
Two-thirds  of  the  grain  fed  must  be  ground.  The  natu- 
ral mill  of  a  fowl's  gizzard,  containing  hard  gravel  for 
mill-stones,  is  capable  of  grinding  all  sorts  of  grain  per- 
fectly, but  at  too  great  an  expense  of  muscular  exertion 
which,  though  involuntary,  is  severe,  and  employs  force 
that  had  better  be  used  for  growing  eggs  or  flesh.  One- 
half  of  the  feed  for  both  grown  birds  and  chickens  is 
cooked,  because  more  easily  digested,  and  because  less  is 
needed.  We  should  cook  it  all  only  for  the  fact  that  a 
part  raw  Is  preferred  by  the  fowls. 

BUILDING   FOR   STORING   AND    COOKING   FOOD. 

The  building  which  contains  the  cook-room  must  also 
Btore  the  grain  and  vegetables  where  they  will  be  handy, 
and  dry  earth  is  kept  at  the  same  place,  because  in  con- 
nection with  other  apartments  a  receptacle  may  be  most 
economically  constructed,  which  shall  admit  of  labor- 
saving  in  the  unloading  and  reloading  of  so  heavy  an 
article. 


74 


AN    KGG    FARM. 


The  south  elevation  of  the  granary  and  cook-house, 
figure  33,  shows  the  manner  of  making  a  "  side-hill  barn  " 
on  nearly  level  ground,  the  object  being  to  drive  the 
wagon  containing  dry  earth  to  as  high  a  point  in  the 
building  as  possible.  The  drive-way  is  made  of  masonry 
and  earth,  excepting  near  the  building,  where  a  wooden 
bridge  is  substituted,  shown  also  in  figure  34.  A  corre- 
sponding drive-way  at  the  north  end,  shown  in  figure  34, 
enables  the  team  to  pass  out  without  backing.  The  dot- 
ted lines  in  figure  34  indicate  the  floors  A,  A,  which  fol- 
low the  inclination  of 
the  drive-ways  until 
the  level  space  B  is 
gained  at  the  center, 
w'here  is  a  trap  C, 
through  which  the 
earth  falls  into  a 
hopper-shaped  cham- 
ber, as  mentioned  un- 
der "  Collecting  and 
Storing  Dry  Earth." 
For  filling  the  corners 
there  are  additional 
trap-doors  at  D,  D. 
This  chamber  or  bin 
slopes  at  the  bottom, 
the  position  of  a  part 
of  which  is  shown  by 
the  dotted  lines  E, 
E,  which  converge  at  the  point  F,  where  is  a  slide- 
door,  through  which  the  contents  are  discharged  to  be 
carried  to  the  stations,  the  wagon  being  backed  for  the 
latter  purpose  through  the  doors  G,  G.  West  of  the 
room,  where  the  dry  earth  is  discharged  into  the  wagon, 
is  a  bin  for  potatoes,  etc. ,  built  of  thick  stone  walls,  to 
prevent  freezing.     This  bin  is  filled  from  above  by  driv- 


Fig.  33.— SOUTH  ELEVATION. 


BUILDING   FOR   STORING    AND   COOKING    FOOD, 


75 


ing  a  load  of  roots  to  the  floor  B,  and  allowing  them  to 
slide  down   an   inclined  plane.      The  cook-room,  with 


which  the  window  H  communicates,  occupies  the  north 
part  of  the  lower  story  of  which  figure  35  gives  a  ground 
plan.     I,  cook-room  with  its  outside  (north)  door  ,/.    K, 


76 


AN    EGG   FAEM. 


dfi/t- 


M 


K 


grain-bin  entered  at  the  door  L.  The  root-bin  is  at  M, 
and  entered  at  the  door  N.  The  cook-room  is  used  in 
winter  as  a  place  in  which  to  dress  fowls,  and  contains 
also  a  work-bench  with  tools.  The  cooking  apparatus  is 
at  0.  There  is  no  chimney  proper,  but  only  a  chimney- 
top  supported  by  strong  timbers  near  the  peak.     A  brick 

flue  rises  from 
0  perpendicular- 
ly as  far  as  the* 
eaves,  terminated 
by  an  ordinary 
stove-pipe,  which 
conducts  the 
smoke  to  a  large 
drum  in  the  up- 
per room,  and 
from  thence  to 
the  chimney-top. 
In  this  way  the 
garret  is  warmed 
to  accommodate  in  February  a  few  of  the  early  chick- 
ens. As  shown  in  figure  33,  the  south  wall  of  this 
nursery  apartment  is  well  glazed.  Enough  late  fall 
chickens  of  the  half-blood  sitting  variety  are  raised  to 
tenant  it  during  December  and  January.  The  dimen- 
sions of  the  building  are  36  by  30  feet,  with  18  foot  posts. 

MANAGEMENT   OF   YOUNG   CHICKENS. 


Fisr.  35. — gkoot>  plan. 


In  keeping  poultry  on  a  large  scale,  there  is  no  one 
thing  more  important,  or  more  difBcult  to  manage,  than 
the  chicken  department.  A  failure  in  the  yearly  supply 
of  pullets,  with  which  to  recruit  the  stock  of  layers, 
would  Tae  fatal  to  the  whole  plan.  It  is  quite  an  easy 
matter  to  raise  nearly  every  chick  of  a  hardy  breed,  when 
there  are  but  a  few  upon  an  extensive  range,  but  it  is  the 


MANAGEMENT   OF   YOUNG    CHICKENS.  77 

reverse  when  we  are  desirous  of  rearing  several  hundreds 
upon  an  acre,  and  there  is,  practically,  no  insect  forage 
at  all.  If  there  are  persons  who  consider  the  occupation 
of  a  poulterer  as  "  small  potatoes,"  believing  that  it  needs 
less  thought  and  skill  than  to  manage  a  cotton-mill,  or 
mercantile  establishment,  or  horses  and  cattle  even,  let 
them  try  once  to  raise  chickens  by  the  thousand,  without 
losing  money,  and  find  the  need  of  keeping  their  wits  as 
sharp  as  in  more  pretentious  kinds  of  business.  Yet,  all 
difficulties  may  be  surmounted  by  thorough  management. 
To  have  strong  chickens,  it  is  necessary  in  the  first 
place  to  avoid,  in  the  main,  breeding  akin,  and  to  keep 
the  breeding  stock  in  a  condition  as  near  to  normal  as 
possible,  securing  for  them  sun,  air,  and  exercise,  and 
avoiding  a  pampering  diet.  The  greater  the  number  of 
eggs  produced  by  a  fowl,  the  less  vitality  there  will  be  in 
each,  therefore  the  first  only  of  a  laying  should  be  set. 
Early  chickens  are  the  most  certain  to  live,  and  this  is 
because  force  is  stored  up  in  the  parent  before  laying  com- 
mences, sufficient  to  endow  the  first  eggs  or  chickens 
with  plenty  of  vigor,  while  later  the  abnormal  or  artifi- 
cial prolificness  impairs  the  eggs.  In  spite  of  the  uncon- 
genial weather,  March-hatched  chickens  are  stronger 
than  those  produced  in  April,  and  the  latter  in  turn  are 
reared  with  greater  ease  than  those  hatched  in  May. 
But  after  attending  to  the  above  considerations,  the 
chickens  being  hatched  and  assigned  quarters,  their  lives 
then  depend  chiefly  on  their  diet.  Of  course,  they  must 
be  kept  clean,  dry,  free  from  vermin,  and  protected  from 
other  enemies,  quadruped  and  biped,  and  be  allowed 
space  for  exercise  in  the  sun  and  open  air  ;  but  all  these 
things  will  not  suffice,  unless  animal  food  is  artificially 
provided  as  a  substitute  for  the  insects  they  would  obtain 
if  there  were  but  few  chickens  on  the  premises.  Butch- 
era'  meat,  such  as  calves'  and  sheep's  plucks,  are  even 
better  than  insects,  provided  they  are  fed  plentifully,  yet 


78 


AN    EGG    FARM. 


only  a  very  little  at  a  time,  and  care  is  taken  to  alternate 
with  grain  and  green  vegetable  food.  Chandlers'  gTeaves 
may  be  used  for  chickens  if  very  nice  and  sweet — the 
article  varies  much  in  quahty.  They  are  very  cheap  feed, 
cheaper  than  the  fresh  bits  from  the  butcher,  but  not  as 
good  for  chickens  as  the  latter.  There  must  be  constant 
vigilance  in  supplying  animal  food  regularly  and  system- 
atically. The  young  of  birds  in  a  wild  state  are  given  an 
animal  diet,  even  in  cases  when,  as  they  reach  maturity, 
they  live  upon  seeds.  The  young  of  our  domestic  birds 
can  not  thrive  upon  grain  and  vegetables  alone,  no  matter 
how  nicely  prepared,  because  such  things  can  not  be 
digested  and  assimilated  fast  enough  by  them,  to  meet 
the  great  demands  for  nourishment  caused  by  their  rapid 
growth.  Nature  has  provided  that  the  young  of  all  birds 
shall  mature  and  become  fledged  with  wonderful  rapidity, 
in  order  that  the  period  of  their  helplessness,  when  they 
are  liable  to  be  preyed  upon  by  numerous  enemies,  shall 
be  short.  The  formation  of  the  coat  of  feathers  Avhich 
succeeds  the  downy  covering  with  which  they  emerge 
from  the  shell,  demands  a  quick  and  certain  supply  of 
nutritive  materials,  and  in  the  case  of  domesticated  spe- 
cies the  young  are  obliged  at  the  same  time  to  nourish 
the  growth  of  bodies  which,  owing  to  the  artificial  treat- 
ment man  has  subjected  their  parents  to  for  many  gene- 
rations, tend  to  an  abnormal  size.  The  fledging  period 
is  a  critical  one,  and  the  feeding  from  the  time  of  incu- 
bation until  the  viing  and  tail  feathers  are  fairly  develop- 
ed, should  all  be  contrived  with  a  view  to  aEsist  the 
digestive  organs  in  changing  just  as  much  easily  assimi- 
lated material  as  possible,  into  an  abundance  of  good,  rich 
blood.  It  will  not  do  to  wait  until  the  time  of  the  most 
rapid  feathering,  and  then  begin  to  allow  a  generous  diet, 
but  the  systems  of  the  young  chicks  must  be  prepared  in 
advance,  by  being  stored  with  nutriment  in  every  cell 
and  tissue. 


FEEDING    AND   SHELTERING   CHICKENS. 


79 


FEEDING   AND   SHELTERING   CHICKENS. 


For  the  first  few  days  after  incubation  feed  the  yolks 
of  eggs  sUglitly  cooked  by  being  dropped  in  hot  water, 
not  spoiled  by  being  hard-boiled.  Mix  these  with  an 
equal  quantity  of  the  crumbs  of  corn-cake,  made  by  bak- 
ing a  dough  of  Indian  meal  and  milk.  As  soon  as  the 
chicks  are  a  week  old,  begin  gradually  to  substitute  boil- 
ed plucks  and  livers,  run  through  a  meat-cutter,  in  place 
of  the  egg-yolks,  and  the  Indian  meal  may  be  cooked  as 


QUAIITERS  FOB    EAKLT   CHICKENS. 


a  thick  mush,  and  to  stimulate  appetite  by  variety,  add 
sometimes  wheat-bran  and  ground  oats.  Also,  cracked 
corn  and  wheat  screenings,  raw,  may  be  introduced.  All 
they  will  eat  of  tender  grass,  chopped  fine,  and  boiled 
potatoes,  nicely  mashed,  should  be  given.  The  grass  may, 
of  course,  be  discontinued  when  the  birds  are  strong 
enough  to  pluck  it  for  themselves.  Skimmed  milk  should 
be  the  sole  drink  until  the  birds  are  two  months  old,  at 
least.     There  is  nothing  that  will  so  promote  thrift.     It 


80 


AN  EGG   FABM. 


contains  just  the  elements  needed,  and  in  a  very  available 
form. 

The  adult  fowls  designed  for  breeders  should  be  fed 
sparingly,  and  forced  to  literally  scratch  hard  for  a  living. 
The  sitters  must  be  fed  a  stimulating  diet  in  winter  and 
a  rather  low  one  in  summer,  and  the  fowls  of  the  main 
laying  stock  should  be  crowded  all  their  lives  without  any 
intermission  by  plying  them  with  a  diet  growing  richer 
and  more  stimulating,  because  containing  a  greater  pro- 


Fig.  37.— PEN   FOB  MOVTNG  FOWLS. 

portion  of  chandlers'  scraps,  the  older  they  become. 
Cayenne  pepper  is  the  cheapest  and  best  stimulant,  with 
ground  mustard  and  ginger  for  a  change.  Begin  with  a 
very  little,  and  increase  the  quantity  gradually. 

The  chickens  of  the  classes  of  breeders  and  sitters, 
which  should  be  reared  under  the  most  favorable  auspices 
pos.^ible,  are  housed  at  scattered  stations  in  the  cellars 
vacated  in  early  spring  by  the  eaily-hatched  pullets  (see 
figure  30),  and  so  have  the  advantage  of  a  wide  range. 
The  cellars  are  covered  by  the  earth  platforms,  a  glazed 
sash  being  temporarily  hinged  to  one,  for  a  door.  The 
platforms  are  laid  two  deep,  to  make  sufficient  pitch  as 
shown  in  fi":ure  36.     When  the  chicks  are  old  enough  to 


ADDITIONAL  BUILDINGS.  81 

run  in  and  out  of  the  underground  passage,  they  are  con- 
fined at  first  in  a  lath  pen,  until  they  have  learned  the 
way,  and  afterwards  allowed  to  go  where  they  choose,  the 
hen  being  confined  to  the  cellar.  Figure  37  represents  a 
pen  used  in  moving  fowls.  When  it  is  put  in  the  place 
occupied  by  the  feed-room  at  the  end  of  the  passage  (see 
figure  8,  page  26,  and  figure  29,  page  65),  the  fowls 
are  baited  into  it,  the  door  A  corresponding  to  an  open- 
ing in  the  side  of  the  end  of  the  passage.  The  partitions 
in  the  pen  separate  the  flock  into  squads,  to  prevent  too 
many  fowls  huddling  together  and  trampling  each  other 
during  moving,  at  which  time  a  covering  should  exclude 
the  light.  Chains  may  be  passed  around  the  ends  of  the 
cross-piece  for  draught. 

ADDITIONAL   BUILDINGS. 

Two  buildings  remain  to  be  described.  Figure  38  rep- 
resents a  hospital,  that  is,  a  building  that  can  be  used  as 
such  in  an  emergency.  It  is  14  feet  wide,  60  feet  long, 
and  8  feet  high  at  the  peak.  There  is  a  passage  2'  1^  feet 
wide,  running  its  whole  length  the  north  side,  which 
communicates  with  the  twelve  rooms  into  which  the 
building  is  divided  by  wire  partitions.  The  glazed  roof 
is  upon  the  south  side.  There  is  an  outside  door  (not 
shown  in  the  figure)  in  the  north  wall,  opposite  the  chim- 
ney, for  convenience  in  attending  the  fire.  The  building 
is  w^armed  by  coal,  a  fire-chamber  of  brick,  and  a  boiler 
and  hot-water  pipes  Ibeing  used.  It  is  injurious  to  animals 
to  breathe  the  fumes  that  will  escape  when  it  is  attempt- 
ed to  warm  a  room  by  passing  a  smoke-pipe  through  it, 
leading  from  a  coal-fire,  unless  the  chimney  is  quite  high, 
causing  a  strong  draft,  which  is  one  reason  for  preferring 
hot  water,  and  another  is  that  the  risk  of  overheating  is 
not  so  great  (for  water  can  not  be  heated  above  a  certain 
temperature),  and  a  third  reason  is  that  less  fuel  is  need- 


82  AN   EGG   FARM. 

ed  Avith  hot  water  than  without.  The  original  cost  of 
hot-water  fixtures  is  double,  it  is  true,  but  they  are  kept 
in  repair  with  hardly  the  expense  of  a  cent,  and  cause  a 
savin  o-  of  full  half  the  fuel.  The  ventilator  at  the  top  of 
the  building  has  immovable  blinds  at  its  sides  ;  and  hori- 
zontal doors  at  its  bottom,  opening  upwards,  and  closing 
by  their  own  weight,  moved  by  means  of  cords  and  pul- 
leys, regulate  the  egress  of  air.     At  the  north  side  of  the 


Fig.   38. — HOSPITAL  FOE  EGG  FARM. 

building  are  a  number  of  small  windows,  covered  with 
ordinary  adjustable  blinds,  for  the  admission  of  fresh  air, 
and  in  summer  the  doors  at  both  ends  of  the  structure  may 
be  opened,  as  in  the  illustration,  and  the  windows  in  the 
roof  should  be  partly  curtained.  This  building  is  used 
for  early  chickens  and  numerous  other  purposes,  it  not 
being  expected  to  have  much  occasion  to  take  care  of  sick 
fowls,  for  the  true  plan  is  to  prevent  disease  by  inducing 
constant  exercise  by  scratching,  by  allowing  sun,  air,  good 
food,  and  breeding  from  vigorous  stock.  . 


GENERAL   CONCLUSIONS.  83 

The  office  and  "watch-house"  (fig.  39)  contains  a  room 
below  for  a  business  desk,  and  above  are  sleeping  apart- 
ments. Lights  should  be  kept  burning  all  night,  to  show 
thieves  that  vigilance  is  maintained.  Dogs,  small  and 
great  (in  doors  and  out),  are  valuable  aids  (accounting 
for  the  kennels  in  the  figure),  but  in  the  day  time  they 
should  be  yarded  in  a  strong  inclosure  made  on  purpose. 


Fig.    39. — OFFICE  AND  WATCH-HOUSE. 

or  chained  where  they  can  not  frighten  the  fowls.  The 
eggs  designed  for  hatching  are  kept  in  a  closet  on  the 
first  floor,  so  situated  with  respect  to  the  fire  (maintained 
day  and  night  in  a  small  base-burner  coal  stove  during 
cold  weather),  as  to  be  kept  at  a  constart  and  even  tem- 
perature of  about  50  degrees. 

GENERAL   CONCLUSIONS. 

A  tract  of  land,  100  x  100  rods  =  63'  |,  acres,  will  con- 
tain ten  rows  of  houses  for  the  laying  stock,  arranged  on 
the  quincunx  plan,  ten  in  a  row,  as  stated  under  "  Plan 
OF  THE  Farm."  These  one  hundred  buildings  will  each 
contain  50  birds,  or  5,000  in  all.  In  addition  there  must 
be  500  of  the  sitting  stock,  and  500  at  the  breeding  and 


84  AN   EGG  FARM. 

experimental  yards,  or  a  total  of  6,000.  The  5,000  layers 
comprise  3,000  yeariings,  and  the  rest  are  two-year-olds. 
To  replenish  the  laying  stock,  there  must  be  raised  7,500 
chickens  yearly  (for  three  out  of  five  are  cocks  and  in- 
ferior pullets  to  be  rejected).  To  replenish  the  sitters 
and  also  the  breeders — in  the  latter  class  much  "weeding 
out"  being  necessary — 2,500  chickens  more  must  be  rais- 
ed. That  is,  about  10,000  chickens  must  be  reared  an- 
nually. 

Now,  when  fowls  are  kept  under  the  ordinary  system 
pursued  by  the  family  living  in  a  village — by  which  we 
mean  that  there  is  a  fowl-house  and  yard  to  accommodate 
a  flock,  and  then,  if  the  number  is  to  be  increased,  an- 
other yard  is  made,  and  so  on — one  man  can  take  care  of 
600  fowls  without  the  aid  of  a  team.  He  can  take  off  all 
the  produce  in  the  cars,  and  distribute  to  his  city  cus- 
tomers from  a  basket  carried  upon  his  arm ;  can  spade  up 
the  ground  in  the  yards,  Tceep  the  fowls  out  of  mischief  hj 
setting  them  at  work  scratching,  clean  the  houses  regu- 
larly, prepare  the  food,  build  a  fire,  and  cook  for  his 
charge  every  day,  giving  a  variety,  meat,  vegetables, 
pounded  shells,  etc. ,  and  Tceep  Ms  stock  young  by  raising 
enough  chickens,  so  as  to  have  on  hand  400  pullets  every 
autumn,  after  killing  the  supernumerary  cocks  and  in- 
ferior pullets.  But  one  man  can  not  take  care  of  more 
than  this,  and  do  it  well,  under  the  ordinary  domestic  or 
small-scale  plan.  If  he  attempt  to  manage  1,000  or  1,500, 
market  their  produce,  raise  the  needful  number  of 
chickens,  etc.,  he  will  slight  the  work,  and  so  sure  as  it 
is  slighted,  there  will  be  loss.  He  can  keep  600  adult 
fowls,  and  make  $600,  and  no  more.  If  he  is  not  skillful, 
vigilant,  patient,  and  persevering,  he  will  not  make  that. 
We  mean  reckoning  ordinary  market  rates  for  produce 
(not  selling  live  fowls,  or  eggs  for  hatching,  at  high  rates), 
and  supposing  that  he  raises  some  early  chickens,  but 
only  as  many  as  may  be  while  distributing  his  labor  even- 


GEXEBAL   CONCLUSIONS.  85 

ly  throughout  the  year,  and  allowing  the  value  of  the 
manure  to  exactly  offset  the  interest  upon  the  land  and 
buildings,  and  the  repairs  and  depreciation  in  value  of 
the  latter. 

We  have  kept  accurate  accounts  for  five  years,  and 
though  we  have  in  one  year  cleared  $2  per  head  on  an 
average,  and  sometimes  on  single  flocks  as  high  as  $3. 75 
per  head,  yet  it  is  unsafe  to  count  on  more  than  $1  per 
head  profit  upon  each  adult  fowl,  all  losses  and  expenses 
considered.  Now  let  it  be  remembered  that  the  skill  and 
incessant  care  and  industry  necessary  to  clear  $600  in  the 
case  supposed  above  would,  employed  at  some  other  busi- 
ness, earn  $800  or  $900,  for  a  bungler  can  not  keep  fowls 
as  a  business,  and  we  see  why  it  is  that  during  the  past 
fifteen  years  so  many  persons  who  have  tried  to  enlarge 
their  poultry  business  on  the  ordinary  ''family  fowl-house 
and  yard  "  plan  have  failed  and  quit  in  disgust.  What  is 
needed  is  the  reduction  of  the  amount  of  labor.  This 
must  be  accomplished  by  employing  a  team  in  every 
operation  where  it  can  be  done,  and  by  using  movable 
buildings.  The  movable  houses  and  no  yards  (necessitat- 
ing the  system  of  indirect  feeding)  are  the  central  features 
relied  upon  in  our  "  egg-farming  "  to  crowd  down  labor 
to  the  minimum.    All  the  other  features  are  subordinate. 

Five  hands  (with  two  horses)  can  attend  to  the  whole 
establishment  of  6,000  adult  fowls,  and  the  excess  of  pro- 
duce over  feed  will  be  $5,000  for  the  laying  stock  of  5,000 
birds.  Nothing  is  said  about  any  income  from  the  breeders 
and  sitters,  they  are  supposed  to  be  as  much  a  necessary 
evil  as  anything  ;  or  about  income  from  crops  or  manure, 
that  being  an  offset,  and  a  fair  offset,  as  our  experience 
and  laborious  accounts  show,  against  the  interest  on  land 
and  buildings.  The  help  can  some  of  it  be  of  the  cheaper 
sort — boys  of  fifteen,  if  intelligent  and  steady.  One  hand 
worth  $800  at  the  top  of  the  scale  (there's  no  use  in 
reckoning  a  princely  salary  at  any  rural  occupation),  the 


86  AN   EGG    FAEM. 

** right-hand  man"  at  1700,  No.  3  at  $600,  and  two  ap- 
prentices at  $350  each,  and  there  is  $2,800  for  labor,  to 
which  $400  must  be  added  for  the  maintenance  of  team, 
including  wear  and  tear  of  vehicles  and  harness,  and  sun-' 
dries.  As  our  eggs  are  only  partly  hatched,  we  can't 
count  all  the  chickens,  but  our  readers  have  a  right  to 
figures  enough  to  get  a  fair  understanding  of  our  enter- 
prise. 

There  are  only  three  systems  of  fowl-keeping  possible. 
There  are  many  modifications  of  these,  it  is  true,  but  to 
one  genus  or  another  of  the  three  following  they  may  all 
be  referred. 

One  is  the  highly  artificial  or  bird-cage  plan  of  Mr. 
Geyelin  as  detailed  in  his  "  Poultry-Keeping  in  a  Com- 
mercial Point  of  View,"  a  book  which  is,  after  all,  one 
of  the  most  valuable  repositories  of  information  for  fowl- 
keepers  ever  written.  But  the  cage  plan  fails,  because 
there  is  not  enough  exercise  for  the  birds,  and  altogether 
too  much  for  the  attendant. 

Another  is  the  ordinary  plan  of  the  villager  or  the 
fancier,  given  in  poultry  books  and  agricultural  papers  in 
endless  variations  of  one  tune,  and  that  tune  a  "house 
and  yard  adjoining."  A  good  plan  for  the  family  who 
make  no  account  of  the  labor  involved,  and  who  have 
odd  bits  to  spare  from  their  table,  or  for  those  expecting 
to  sell  blooded  fowls  or  early  chickens  at  high  prices 
(minor  branches  in  which  a  few  can  and  do  make  for- 
tunes), and  a  good  plan  too  for  getting  a  start  in  opera- 
tions on  a  large  scale,  but  a  money-losing  plan  if  it  is 
attempted  to  supply  city  markets  with  table  fowls  and 
eggs  at  ordinary  market  rates. 

The  remaining  one  is  that  pursued  by  nature  before 
fowls  were  domesticated,  and  the  one  under  which  they 
have  been  mainly  kept  since,  during  a  period  antedating 
history  and  continuing  to  the  present ;  by  giving  them 
their  freedom  in  the  daytime  and  a  shelter  by  night. 


GENERAL   CONCLUSIONS.  87 

Nature  gave  a  thicket  for  a  roost ;  the  farmer,  from  the 
barbarian  down,  gave  a  shed — that  is  about  all  the  dif- 
ference. Spite  of  neglect,  the  farmer's  poultry  at  large 
is  more  free  from  disease  than  that  kept  yarded  under 
average  management.  As  the  wild  fowls  need  no  at- 
tendant at  all,  so  by  arrangements  as  near  like  theirs  as 
possible  the  least  labor  is  demanded.  Fend  off  storms 
and  wind  and  the  summer  sun  by  the  simplest  shelter 
that  can  be  made,  dodge  the  labor  of  house-cleaning  by 
plowing  and  moving  buildings,  and  make  the  mutual  an- 
tagonisms of  neighboring  flocks  take  the  place  of  yard 
fences  just  as  among  wild  jungle  fowls,  and  the  maximum 
of  thrift  and  the  minimum  of  labor  and  expense  will  be 
secured. 

Our  ambition  has  been  and  is  to  demonstrate,  not  how 
to  raise  blooded  fowls  nor  mainly  early  chickens,  capons, 
or  any  other  article  with  a  view  to  high  prices,  but  to 
change  one  staple,  grain,  into  another,  eggs,  by  the  most 
economical  method  possible.  The  industrial  problems 
which  concern  the  masses  are  the  most  important. 


SUPPLEMENTARY    ARTICLES. 


Besides  the  very  complete  series  of  articles  by  Mr. 
Stoddard,  we  present  in  the  following  pages  some 
accounts  by  other  writers,  of  attempts  to  raise  poul- 
try in  large  numbers.  Though  these  plans  are  less 
thorough  and  extensive  than  those  given  for  the  Egg 
Farm,  it  has  been  thought  best  to  introduce  them  here, 
to  add  to  the  completeness  and  value  of  the  work. 

A  FARM  POULTRY-HOUSE. 


The  engraving  (fig.  40)  here  given,  represents  a  com. 
bined  roosting,  sitting,  and  laying-house,  which  the  writer 
found  very  convenient,  and  in  which  he  has  kept  150 
hens  and  hatched  out  nearly  a  thousand  young  chickens. 
The  main  part  of  the  building,  the  roosting-house,  shown 
in  the  engraving  at  the  left  hand,  is  12  x  IG  feet,  and  12 
feet  high  at  front,  and  8  feet  at  the  rear,  with  a  sloping 
roof.  The  floor  is  of  earth,  a  row  of  bricks  being  partly 
bedded  into  the  earth,  and  pine  scantling,  4  inches  square, 
laid  upon  them,  with  the  ends  halved  and  jointed  together^ 
These  form  the  sills  of  the  building.  In  building,  the 
boards  were  nailed  to  these  sills,  commencing  at  the  cor- 
ners, and  scantling  of  2x4  inches  nailed  to  them  for 
plates.  The  building  was  then  boarded  up,  rafters  of 
inch-boards  were  let  into  the  front  and  rear  and  nailed, 
sheathing  of  inch-boards  and  a  roof  of  shingles  was  then 
put  on,  a  door  was  fitted,  entrance  holes  with  fly  benches 
two  feet  from  the  ground  were  made,  and  a  roosting-lad- 
der  of  sassafras  poles,  on  which,  by  the  way,  we  never 
88 


A   FARM    POULTKY-HOUSE. 


89 


saw  any  lice,  completed  the  whole.  The  whole  was  put 
up  in  two  days.  To  this  was  added  the  open  shed,  seen 
in  the  center,  and  the  sitting- 
house,  si;  own  at  the  right,  built 
in  the  same  manner,  each  of  the 
same  size,  making  the  whole  48 
feet  long.  Nests  were  provided 
in  the  open  shed  and  in  the  roost- 
ing-house,  all  of  loose  boxes 
covered  with  crude  petroleum 
inside  and  out.  When  a  hen 
"set,"  the  box  and  its  occupant 
were  removed  at  night  into  the 
sitting-house,  and  placed  on  the 
shelf  which  is  fixed  around  it. 
There  she  was  kept  shut  up,  but 
carefully  attended  and  watched, 
until  the  chicks  were  hatched, 
when  she  remained  as  long  as  was 
agreeable,  the  chicks  being  re- 
moved as  they  appeared,  and  fresh 
eggs  put  under  her.  In  this  way 
some  hens  brought  out  two  or 
three  broods  before  their  patience 
was  exhausted.  This  house  was 
cleaned  out  at  night,  fresh  food 
and  water  and  sand  for  baths  were 
put  in,  and  in  the  day-time  it 
was  kept  very  quiet.  When  a 
hen  left  her  nest,  which  rarely 
happened,  she  was  taken  out 
and  another  quietly  put  on. 
This  may  be  done  readily  with  Dorkings  or  Brahmas  that 
are  kept  tame  and  used  quietly.  The  bouse  was  white- 
washed twice  during  the  season,  and  on  the  whole  was  all 
that  could  be  desired.    The  roosting-house  had  ventilators 


90  POULTRY   FARMING. 

cut  at  the  upper  part,  and  by  not  allowing  any  nests  to 
be  made  on  the  ground,  skunks  and  other  vermin  were 
not  encouraged,  and  committed  no  depredations.  The 
size  of  these  buildings  may  be  changed  to  suit  the  needs 
of  a  flock  of  any  smaller  number,  or  another  set  of  build- 
ings may  be  added  if  the  flock  should  be  increased. 

POULTRY  FARMING. 


There  is  something  alluring  in  doing  things  upon  a 
large  scale.  The  desire  to  possess  a  thousand  fowls  has 
enticed  many  men  to  go  into  poultry  farming  as  a  special 
business,  and  indulge  in  dreams  of  an  easy  and  comfort- 
able business  if  not  of  wealth.  Unfortunately  in  nearly 
every  case  which  has  come  to  our  knowledge,  there  has 
been  failure,  at  first  disappointment,  then  disgust  and 
sickness  of  heart  from  the  hope  deferred,  rather  than 
from  any  inherent  impossibility  of  keeping  a  thousand 
fowls  as  easily  as  a  hundred.  It  would  seem  as  though  a 
person  who  could  successfully  manage  one  small  flock 
could  care  for  several  with  equal  success,  but  in  reality 
few  persons  manage  a  flock  of  a  hundred  fowls  with  com- 
plete success.  There  are  deaths,  sickness,  vermin,  losses 
of  eggs,  hidden  nests,  and  the  loss  of  broods,  depredations 
of  hawks,  owls,  skunks,  or  cats,  and  all  the  other  ills 
from  which  poultry  sufEers  by  reason  of  neglect  or  want 
of  skill  in  the  great  majority  of  small  flocks  ;  but  because 
of  the  small  value  involved  nothing  is  thought  of  these 
losses.  We  always  hear,  however,  when  a  man  fails  in 
his  endeavor  to  manage  a  poultry  farm.  The  cause  of  the 
frequent  failures  is  not  the  impossibility  of  succeeding, 
but  the  want  of  the  care,  skill,  and  patience  necessary  for 
success.  With  these  qualifications,  a  suitable  locality, 
and  a  proper  arrangement  of  buildings,  we  know  of  no 
reason  why  poultry  keeping  for  eggs  and  chickens  should 
not  be  made  profitable  with  the  use  of  a  moderate  capital. 


POULTRY    FARMING. 


91 


We  know  of  a  case  in  which  it  was  successful  so  far  as  it 
was  carried,  and  have  no  doubt  that  it  might  have  been 
indefinitely  enlarged  with  equal  success. 

In  the  case  referred  to,  the  farm  was  a  tract  of  cheap 
land,  rough,  hilly,  and  with  too  many  large  stones  in  the 
soil  for  cultivation.    There  was  some  young,  second  growth 


Fig.    41. — niLL-SIDE   POULTRY-HOUSE. 

timber  upon  the  hill-side  and  a  spring  broke  out  near 
the  foot  of  the  hill.  Excavations  were  made  in  the  bank, 
and  log  houses  built  therein,  all  but  the  front  being  cov- 
ered with  earth.  The  houses  were  18  feet  long  by  12 
wide,  and  about  6  feet  high  to  the  eaves.  The  roof  was 
of  rough  boards,  and  a  large  ventilator  placed  in  the  cen- 
ter of  it.  The  arrangement  is  shown  in  the  engraving, 
figure  41.  The  soil,  of  coarse  gravel,  and  very  dry,  was 
left  to  form  the  floor  of  the  houses.     Roosts  for  one  hun- 


92  POULTRY    FARMING. 

dred  fowls,  and  boxes  for  nests  were  put  in  each  house, 
and  in  the  space  of  twelve  feet  or  thereabouts  left  between 
the  houses,  some  places  were  fitted  for  nests  with  logs  and 
earth.  The  houses  were  whitewashed  inside  and  outside. 
The  water  of  the  spring  was  brougbt  in  a  half -inch  lead 
pipe  near  to  the  houses  and  ran  into  a  trough.  Two 
hundred  hens  were  kept  in  the  two  houses  -without  any 
trouble,  and  were  free  from  lice  and  all  disease  when  we 
last  saw  them.  They  had  a  range  over  seventy-five  acres 
of  ground,  which  was  only  partly  in  a  poor  sod,  the  rest 
being  gravel  or  sand  with  a  plentiful  growth  of  blackber- 
ries and  dewberries.  Corn,  barley,  oats,  and  wheat  screen- 
ings were  used  for  food,  and  the  young  man  who  owned 
and  managed  the  farm  was  well  satisfied  that  he  could 
add  more  houses  year  by  year  until  his  hill-side  was  fully 
occupied,  and  still  succeed.  The  warmth  of  the  under- 
ground houses  kept  the  hens  laying  through  a  greater  part 
of  the  winter  when  eggs  were  selling  at  a  high  price.  The 
fowls  were  of  the  common  barn-yard  kind,  which  were 
purchased  from  the  neighboring  farmers,  but  they  were 
all  pullets  of  the  previous  year.  To  this  fact,  as  well  as  to 
the  care  and  tact  with  which  they  were  managed,  the 
success  was  probably  in  a  great  measure  due.  To  the 
numerous  inquiries  relating  to  this  business  we  would  say, 
that  if  some  such  plan  as  this  were  followed  upon  a  piece 
of  cheap  land  near  a  village  or  city  which  would  furnish 
a  market  for  fresh  eggs  in  the  winter  at  not  less  than 
twenty-five  cents  a  dozen,  and  for  early  chickens  at  not 
less  than  twenty-five  cents  a  pound,  with  proper  care, 
close  attention,  a  watchful  eye,  and  quiet  patience  with 
the  wayward  flock,  a  reasonable  profit  might  be  made  out 
of  a  moderate  investment. 


POULTRY-KEEPING    AS    A    BUSINESS.  93 

POULTRY-KEEPING  AS  A  BUSINESS. 


There  is  more  fascination  than  profit  in  poultry-keeping 
for  those  who  know  but  little  about  it.  The  work  seems 
to  be  very  light,  the  fowls  are  supposed  to  be  docile  and 
easily  managed,  and  the  general  idea  is  that  there  is 
nothing  to  do  but  scatter  some  corn  upon  the  ground  two 
or  three  times  a  day,  and  gather  the  eggs  and  market  the 
fowls  as  fast  as  they  grow  fat.  The  numerous  letters  we 
receive,  asking  for  information  about  poultry-keeping  and 
the  profits  of  it,  are  in  great  part  from  persons  who  pos- 
sess this  idea.  For  instance,  one  correspondent  asks  how 
many  fowls  will  support  a  family  of  six  persons,  as  though 
it  was  a  matter  of  figures,  and  only  necessary  to  procure 
a  certain  number  of  fowls  and  a  house,  and  start  them 
laying  eggs  and  producing  chickens  to  secure  a  permanent 
income.  Now  it  is  quite  safe  to  say  that  any  person  who 
knows  so  little  about  the  trouble  and  risks  of  poultry- 
keeping  as  this,  would  fail  in  it  and  lose  his  money,  unless 
he  should  start  with  a  dozen  or  two  fowls,  and  go  through 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  business.  For  a  certain  class  of 
persons,  poultry-keeping  is  a  very  appropriate  business, 
and  may  be  made  profitable.  Those  who  are  possessed 
of  plenty  of  patience  and  perseverance,  kindness  and  gen- 
tleness of  disposition,  a  scrupulous  love  of  order  and  clean- 
liness, a  habit  of  close  observation  and  quick  perception, 
and  a  ready  tact  in  finding  out  the  cause  when  anything 
goes  wrong,  and  in  quickly  remedying  it,  will  generally 
succeed  in  keeping  poultry  ;  while  those  not  so  endowed 
will  generally  fail,  and  should  never  attempt  it.  Again, 
one  must  be  able  to  justly  appreciate  both  the  diflSculties 
and  advantages  of  his  location,  such  as  the  character  of 
the  land  and  its  surroundings,  the  supply  of  food  and  the 
available  markets.*  It  would  be  folly  to  keep  fowls  on  the 
borders  of  a  forest  or  the  margin  of  a  swamp,  on  account 
of  the  vermin  which  such  places  shelter  ;  it  would  be  a 


94 


POULTRY-KEEPING    AS    A    BUSINESS. 


great  advantage  to  be  located  near  a  number  of  summer 
boarding-houses,  where  there  is  a  good  demand  for  eggs 
and  chickens,  or  near  a  large  city,  where  early  plump 
chickens  sell  sometimes  for  75  cents  a  pound,  and  where 
cheap  food  in  the  siiape  of  various  kinds  of  offal  can  be 
procured.  A  want  of  the  knowledge  that  will  enable  one 
to  seize  upon  all  the  advantages  that  may  offer,  or  to  avoid 
all  the  difficulties  presented,  will  be  fatal  to  success.    The 


Fig.   43— POULTRY-nOUSE    for    raising    chickens  fob  MiVBKET. 

kinds  of  buildings  needed  will  greatly  depend  upon  the 
character  of  the  ground.  A  building  suitable  for  a  flock 
of  poultry  kept  for  business  and  profit,  where  the  avail- 
able ground  is  of  small  extent,  is  shown  in  figure  43. 
The  building  of  which  this  is  a  sketch  is  in  the  centre  of 
a  plot  of  land  of  less  than  two  acres,  Avhich  is  divided  into 
two  portions,  one  being  in  grass  and  the  other  cultivated 
with  fodder  corn,  rye,  potatoes,  or  other  crops.  The 
house  has  two  entrances,  front  and  rear,  so  that  the  fowls 
may  be  turned  into  either  part  of  the  plot.    It  consists  of 


POUKTRY-KEEPING    AS    A    BUSINESS.  95 

a  central  building,  with  a  wing  upon  each  side.  It  is 
built  of  boards,  and  covered  with  Johns'  Asbestos  Eoof- 
ing,  which  has  the  effect  of  discouraging  the  presence  of 
lice  by  its  strong  tarry  odor.  The  central  apartment  has 
three  roosting  poles  on  each  side  of  the  middle  passage. 
From  this  apartment  there  are  holes  leading  to  rows  ot 
nests  in  the  side  apartments.  These  are  appropriated  for 
sitting  hens,  and  for  a  room  for  packing  eggs  and  also  a 
hospital  for  sick  fowls,  which  are  separated  from  the  others 
until  they  are  cured.  When  a  hen  is  found  sitting  at 
night,  she  is  shut  off  from  the  central  apartment,  and 
the  nest  opened  to  the  side  one.  Above  the  central  part 
of  the  building  is  a  loft  for  keeping  pigeons.  The  crops 
raised  are  for  food  or  shelter  for  the  chickens,  and  to  en- 
courage the  presence  of  insects,  upon  which  the  young 
chicks  may  feed.  Sheltered  by  the  rows  of  corn-stalks, 
or  the  stalks  of  rye  or  potatoes,  the  chicks  are  safe  from 
hawks,  which  will  not  swoop  down  upon  them,  except  in 
clear  ground.  The  coops  are  kept  in  this  part  of  the  plot, 
being  moved  daily  to  fresh  ground.  The  chickens  are 
kept  busy  scratching  in  the  loose  soil,  and  there  are 
few  potatoes  raised  but  what  are  scratched  out  and  eaten 
by  them.  This  furnishes  them  with  employment  and 
with  some  wholesome  food,  and  it  is  for  this  purpose  alone 
they  are  planted.  The  owner  of  this  small  chicken  farm 
is  a  gardener  and  florist,  and  his  wife  manages  this  part 
of  the  business,  producing  every  year  two  or  three  hun- 
dred pairs  of.  chickens  for  market,  besides  eggs  and  old 
fowls. 


9G  AKTIFICIAL   IJSCUBATIOif   AND   BUOODING. 


ARTIFICIAL  INCUBATION  AND  BROODING. 

Extraordinary  progress  has  been  made  in  the  construc- 
tion and  management  of  artificial  incubators  and  brooders 
within  the  past  few  years.  Kow-a-dajs  the  percentaire 
of  eggs  hatched  by  them  is  fully  equal  to  that  hatched 
by  hens  as  ordinarily  managed.  Xow  and  then,  indeed, 
a  hen  steals  her  nest  and  hatches  every  egg ;  but  for  every 
brood  so  hatched,  no  doubt,  two  full  nests  of  eggs  may 
be  found  in  the  bushes  with  every  egg  addled  and  lost. 
These  stolen  nests  are  peculiarly  liable  to  accident. 
Skunks,  than  which  no  more  useful  animals  exist  on 
many  insect-infested  farms,  make  it  their  especial  busi- 
ness to  hunt  out  these  nests.  Most  farm  dogs  enjoy  a 
fresh  egg  as  weil  as  the  most  fastidious  city  customer. 
Crows,  though  less  fastidious  and  discriminating,  break 
up  many  a  hen's  nest.  There  is  also  a  long  list  of  ver- 
min of  various  kinds,  besides  the  average  "hired  man," 
all  of  which  are  fond  of  eggs,  and  the  depredations  of 
which  essentially  reduce  the  percentage  of  eggs  which 
hatch  when  left  to  nature  and  the  instincts  of  the  mater- 
nal bird. 

In  the  incubator  those  eggs  which  are  either  not  vital- 
ized, or  in  whicli  the  vitality  has  been  essentially  impaired 
before  the  hatching  process  is  begun,  may  be  removed  on 
the  third  to  the  fifth  day.  Their  removal  makes  room 
for  others,  so  that  the  incubators  may  be  kept  working 
up  to  their  full  capacity.  This  is  a  great  gain,  especially 
as  these  eggs  are  uninjured  for  cooking  purposes  and  find 
ready  sale  at  ordinary  market  prices.  Besides,  eggs  which 
die  after  the  first  process  of  development  begins  may  be 
discovered  and  removed  on  the  tenth  day,  and  in  some  cases 
later.  These,  too,  are  not  lost,  but  when  well  boiled  are 
excellent  food  for  the  young  chicks.  Finally,  eggs  which 
develop  to  the  full  extent  and  which  fail  to  hatch  on  the 


INCUBATORS.  97 

twenty-firsi  to  twenty-third  day,  may  be  cooked  and  util- 
ized as  food  for  older  chicks  or  fowls  ;  so  that  really  none 
are  absolutely  wasted. 

In  regard  to  artificial  brooding  there  is  no  qiiestion 
as  to  its  economy.  There  are  numerous  plans,  as  there 
are  numerous  incubators,  but  in  whatever  way  chicks  are 
hatched,  artificial  brooding  may  be  employed.  It  is  best 
that  the  chicks  should  never  know  a  mother's  loving  care. 
The  old  hen's  first  gift  to  her  brood  is  lice.  Within  a  few 
hours  after  they  leave  the  shell  every  chick,  if  left  under 
the  hen,  will  have  more  or  less  lice  upon  it,  while  if  re- 
moved at  once,  even  before  they  are  dry,  and  placed  in  a 
good  brooder  they  will  be  entirely  free  and  will  remain  so 
until  they  begin  to  associate  with  mature  fowls.  In  the 
brooders  the  little  things  have  all  that  they  need,  and  are 
liable  to  get  no  harm.  If  well  cared  for,  supplied  with 
proper  food,  moderate  warmth  and  good  ventilation,  they 
will  be  more  healthy,  grow  faster,  meet  with  fewer  acci- 
dents and  by  a  large  percentage  become  superior  fowls 
than  those  brooded  under  hens.  They  are  exempt  from 
the  ordinary  diseases  of  infancy,  ''the  pip,"  "gapes,"  etc. 

INCUBATORS. 

It  becomes  an  important  question  which  incubator  to 
use.  Of  course  we  all  want  the  best — but  which  is  it  ? 
There  are  a  few  suggestions  to  be  made  in  this  connection 
which  will  probably  insure  satisfaction. 

First — Select  some  standard  style  ;  because  after  an 
incubator  has  been  some  years  before  the  public  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  a  substantial  company,  firm  or 
business  man  is  behind  it ;  and  that  the  faults  of  the  first 
construction  will  have  been  remedied;  and  that  there  is  not 
only  business  responsibility  on  the  part  of  the  makers,  but 
experience,  and  the  results  of  the  use  of  the  machine  by 
others — a  sure  way  to  learn  its  faults,  and  indicate  better 
construction. 


98  INCUBATORS. 

Seco7id — Select  one  of  simple  form,  easily  understood, 
having  no  complicated  or  delicate  mechanism. 

Third — Select  one  thoroughly  made,  substantial^neat, 
with  close  joints,  large  capacity  for  heat  (for  instance,  a 
large  water-tank,  which  undergoes  changes  of  tempera- 
ture very  slowly),  and 

Finally,  one  recommended  by  responsible  persons  with 
whom  you  can  communicate. 

It  is  always  best  to  be  deliberate  in  making  choice  of 
such  an  article  ;  and  one  may  almost  always  find  some  of 
almost  any  standard  kind  in  use  by  practical  people 
where  they  may  be  seen  ;  and  if  not,  then  parties  may  be 
communicated  with  by  letter  (return  postage). 

Persons  situated  away  from  towns  where  incubators  are 
used  or  sold,  and  away  from  the  lines  of  railway  or  ex- 
press, may  construct  incubators  for  themselves,  with  only 
the  help  of  a  tinsmith  and  a  carpenter,  which  will  do 
excellent  work.  The  plan  recommended  by  Mr.  P.  H. 
Jacobs  is  as  follows  : — Have  a  closed  tank  made  by  a  tin- 
ner, of  galvanized  iron  or  zinc,  measuring  fifteen  inches 
wide,  thirty  inches  long  and  twelve  inches  deeji,  having 
also  an  inch  tube  eight  inches  long  rising  from  the  top, 
and  a  tube  of  the  same  length  for  a  brass  faucet  near 
the  bottom  of  one  end.  Now  prepare  a  wooden  box  of 
inch  stuff  tongued  and  grooved,  which  shall  hold  the 
tank,  the  sides  and  ends  of  which  shall  extend  nine  inches 
below  the  bottom  of  the  tank  which  is  fastened  in  the  top 
of  the  box  by  four  iron  rods  passing  crosswise  under  the 
tank.  It  is  important  that  there  should  be  several  rods 
to  support  the  bottom  of  the  tank  level,  as  the  weight  of 
water  will  be  considerable,  and  the  tendency  of  the  bot- 
tom is  to  sag  or  bulge.  Immediately  under  the  tank  the 
egg-drawer  is  jilaced.  This  is  three  inches  deep  and  has 
a  bottom  of  muslin  stretched  tight  from  side  to  side  and 
supported  upon  thin  slats  of  wood  let  into  the  ends.  The 
cleats  upon  which  the  egg-drawer  runs  and  is  supported. 


INCUBATORS.  99 

must  be  fastened  in,  and  a  three-inch  opening  made  in 
the  end  opposite  the  faucet,  close  under  the  tank,  for  the 
drawer  to  slide  in  and  out. 

The  arrangement,  as  so  far  completed,  is  set  upon  a  plat- 
form just  six  (or  better  eight)  inches  wider  and  longer  on 
all  sides  than  the  tank.  The  tank  being  15  X  30  inches, 
the  platform  will  be6  +  15  4-6  =  27  inches  wide,  and 
6  +  30  +  6  =  43  inches  long.  The  tank-box,  with  the 
egg-drawer  space  and  the  open  space  below,  which  is 
used  as  a  ventilator,  is  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  plat- 
form and  fastened  there  securely,  after  boring  four  one- 
inch  holes  and  setting  in  tin  tubes  to  come  up  within 
two  inches  of  the  egg-drawer. 

This  platform  is  the  base  or  bottom  of  a  tight  box  to 
be  built  around  and  six  inches  distant  from  the  tank  on- 
all  sides.  The  egg-drawer  shuts  flush  with  the  outside 
of  this  case,  and  the  space  between  the  two  cases  through 
which  the  drawer  slides  is  boxed.  The  boards  are  nailed 
to  cleats  or  posts  in  the  corners,  and  the  top  is  j)ut  on  by 
screws  so  that  it  may  be  removed  if  necessary.  The 
whole  space  between  the  tank  case  and  the  outer  one  is 
now  filled  with  dry  sawdust,  and  it  is  best  to  take  some 
pains  and  obtain  spruce  sawdust  as  being  nearly  odorless. 
Tlie  ventilator  space  below  the  egg-drawer  is  to  be  filled 
with  sawdust  to  near  the  top  of  the  air  tubes,  and  six 
inches  of  the  front  of  the  egg-drawer  is  also  packed. 
This  apparatus  is  set  up  upon  blocks  or  legs,  so  that  the 
air  has  free  access  beneath,  and  is  thus  completed. 

In  use  the  tank  is  to  be  filled  with  boiling  water  and 
the  temperature  carefully  watched,  the  thermometer 
being  laid  in  the  egg-drawer.  It  will  be  twenty-four 
hours  before  the  incubator  will  have  an.  even  tempera- 
ture. If  it  is  found  to  be  below  110°  a  little  water  may 
be  drawn  off  and  hot  water  added.  After  it  is  held  sta- 
tionary at  about  this  temperature  for  a  day  or  two  the 
eggs  may  be  put  iii  and  these  will  bring  the  temperature 


100  BROODERS. 

down  to  the  normal  heat  of  the  hen's  nest — namely,  103°. 
A  pan  for  water  is  placed  in  the  ventilator  space  and  is 
emptied  by  a  rubber  tube  siphon,  and  the  water  renewed 
daily  ;  besides  it  is  well  to  have  one  or  two  moist  sponges 
laid  upon  the  eggs  in  the  drawer,  as  they  indicate  the 
amount  of  moisture  present.  The  egg-drawer  must  be 
taken  out  once  every  day  and  allowed  to  cool  down  to 
70°,  and  while  the  drawer  is  out  it  is  well  to  close  the 
opening  to  prevent  cooling  the  incubator.  Before  re- 
turning the  drawer  the  eggs  must  be  turned  half  over, 
and  to  know  this  they  should  all  be  marked  on  opposite 
sides.  The  last  week  they  should  be  sprinkled  with  tepid 
water  daily — but  this  is  not  necessary  when  the  sponges 
remain  moist. 

To  maintain  the  temperature,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to 
draw  off  a  pail  of  water  and  add  one  of  boiling  water  as 
often  as  may  be  necessary.  In  cold  weather  and  in  an 
exposed  situation  this  may  need  to  be  done  three  times  a 
day ;  but  under  ordinary  circumstances  once  or  twice  a 
day  is  all  that  is  required.  The  changes  of  temperature 
in  this  incubator  go  on  very  slowly  ;  the  influence  of  a 
kettle  of  hot  water  not  being  noticeable  for  three  or  four 
hours  ;  and  herein  is  the  safety  and  excellence  of  the  ap- 
paratus. There  is  no  machinery,  no  lamp,  no  automatic 
arrangements,  but  it  depends  for  its  usefulness  upon  its 
simplicity  and  its  bulk. 

BROODERS. 

Of  these  there  are  many  excellent  ones,  and  it  is  usu- 
ally more  convenient  to  buy  them  than  to  make  them. 
Still  one  may  be  made  much  on  the  same  principle  as  the 
incubator,  (A  large  close  tank  with  one  opening,  closed 
by  a  screw  cap  at  one  corner,  and  having  a  thick  jacket 
of  felt  entirely  covering  it  except  at  the  screw  cap.)  This 
is  set  on  a  slight  incline,  so  that  small  chickens  can  get 


A   SITTING    PEN    FOR   HENS.  101 

their  backs  against  it  at  the  lower  eud  and  larger  ones  at 
other  points.  A  fringe  or  curtain  of  flannel  in  several 
folds  hangs  down  from  all  except  the  front  or  upper 
edge,  where  the  air  and  breath  of  the  chicks  can  pass 
freely  away.  This  is  placed  in  a  box  having  good  venti- 
lation but  protected  from  drafts,  and  the  front  of  the  box 
should  have  several  panes  of  glass  set  in  it  for  light,  while 
access  is  given  the  chicks  as  soon  as  they  are  old  enough 
to  other  compartments  and  open  yards  for  feeding,  etc. 
The  temperature  of  the  brooding  apartment  should  not 
be  higher  than  100°  when  the  tank  is  filled  for  the  night. 
In  filling,  lift  the  tank,  pour  off  the  water  as  necessary 
and  add  boiling  water,  being  careful  not  to  wet  the  felt, 
and  if  it  becomes  wet  to  dry  it  thoroughly.  If  preferred, 
a  faucet  may  be  put  in  for  drawing  off  the  water  without 
lifting  the  tank. 

A   SITTING   PEN   FOR  HENS. 

We  have  for  several  years  used  enclosed  sitting  pens 
for  hens,  like  that  shown  in  the  engraving,  with  much 
satisfaction.  Success  with  poultry  depends  wholly  upon 
the  convenient  and  effective  management  of  the  brood- 
hens  and  the  chicks.  When  hens  cannot  help  it  they 
Avill  do  as  their  owners  wish,  and  there  is  then  peace, 
comfort  and  prosperity  in  the  poultry  house.  These 
pens  are  built  around  a  part  of  the  poultry  house  kept 
specially  for  the  sitting  hens.  Each  one  is  four  by  four 
feet,  and  three  feet  high  ;  it  has  a  hinged  lid,  which  can 
be  throAvn  back  against  the  wall  when  it  is  desired,  for  at- 
tendance upon  the  hen.  Tiie  front  is  covered  with  wire 
netting.  The  nest,  shown  by  the  removal  of  one  side  of 
a  pen,  is  a  box  about  sixteen  inches  square,  open  in  the 
front,  and  having  a  very  low  piece  to  keep  the  nest  in  it, 
and  to  permit  the  hen  to  step  in  and  out.  When  it  is 
necessary  the  nest  is  closed  by  placing  a  piece  of  board 


102 


A   SITTIlfG   PEN   FOR   HENS. 


in  front  of  it.  This  is  done  for  a  day  or  two  when  the 
hen  is  restless  after  having  been  put  in  the  nest.  When 
she  is  settled  down  the  board  is  removed.  Each  pen  is 
supplied  with  a  feeding  dish  and  water  cup,  and  is  lit- 
tered with  sawdust.  It  is  attended  to  every  evening  by 
lamp-light ;  the  feed  and  water  are  renewed,  and  the 
droppings  are  removed — a  pail  and  small  shovel  being 


Fig.  43. — SITTING  PEN  FOR   HENS. 

kept  in  the  house  for  this  purpose.  A  pail  of  water  and 
another  of  feed  are  carried  to  the  house  every  evening. 
The  hens  are  thus  kept  undisturbed  during  the  day,  al- 
though they  are  visited  regularly  to  see  that  all  is  right. 
Each  hen  is  separate  and  cannot  see  the  others,  and  the 
house  being  partly  darkened  and  kept  warm,  the  hens 
are  quiet  and  comfortable  and  mind  their  business  satis- 
factorily. 


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Mystery  of  Metropolisville 1.50 

Hoosier  Schoolmaster 1.25 

Elliott,  Mrs.    Housewife.    New  and  Revised  Edition 1.25 

Emerson  and  Flint.    Manual  of  Agriculture 1.50 

Fisher.    OrainTables 40 

Coode  and  Atwater.    Menhaden  ;  its  Uses,  etc 2.00 

Harris,    insects  Injarious  to  Vegetation.   Plain  $4.  Col'd  Engravings.    6.5() 

Holly.    Art  of  Saw  Filing 75 

Johnston.    Agricultural  Chemistry 1.75 

Lynnde,  Elmer.    The  Model  Cook l.OO 

Norton.    Scientific  Agriculture 75 

Pabor.    Colorado  as  an  Agricultural  State 1.50 

Redder.    LaodMeasurer .      .60 

Phin.    How  to  Use  the  Microscope 1.00 

Scribner.    Lumber  and  Log-Book 3> 

Stewart.    Sorghum  and  its  Products 1.50 

Treat.    Injurious  Insects  of  the  Farm  and  Garden 2.00 

Waring.    Draining  for  Profit  and  Health 1.50 

Elements  of  Agriculture 1.00 

Send  Postal  for  Catalogue  of  onr  200  Pabliratious  regarding  Horses 
and  Horsemanship,  Hunting,  Fishing,  and  all  other  Out-Door  Sports 
and  Pastimes. 

0.   JUDD   CO.,  DAVID  W.  JTJDD,  Pres't. 

751  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


UCSB   LIBRARY 


